AFSHAR "MIGRATION RUG"
Central Persian Antique Rug

(High-Collectible) ("One of “60 Best-of-Their-Type Rugs Sold in 2022") The Afshar tribespeople were part of a consortium of nomadic tribal confederacies that populated and ruled the edges of a vast arid desert in South Persia. Many of these tribes had ancient weaving traditions. This rare pictorial Afshar rug celebrates the seminal tribal experience: "Il Rah" or their semiannual migration. This extraordinary piece displays two rows of wonderfully detailed riders mounted on cobalt blue horses upon a field of patinaed alabaster. These horsemen, in full tribal regalia, including bullet sheaths hanging across their chests and the traditional woolen pillbox hats, are accompanied by rows of spotted gazelle, running dogs, and triangular cypress trees. Reflecting the Afshar's earlier, year-round nomadic lifestyle before they settled in villages, the field design captures an amazing sense of activity and movement. The main border treatment of three-sided blossoms attests to the rug's rustic origins. Published examples of this tribe's work fall between circa 1875-1930, and these do not corroborate the patterning in this piece.

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