BAKSHAISH
Northwest Persian Antique Rug

(High-Collectible) ("One of “60 Best-of-Their-Type Rugs Sold in 2022") Reflecting the genius of the Bakshaish imagination, this evocative carpet is built from the simple concept of layering a set of repeated rows of highly stylized flowerheads over a ground of striated color. Conceived almost 200 years ago, the successful implementation of this concept reveals an enormous body of experience because, unlike painters who sketch tirelessly, weavers build their visions through the slow appearance of a hand-knotted pattern emerging row by row. The backstory of Bakshaish rugs is unknown, yet their 19th-century works are incredibly mature, presenting a phenomenal ability to create immersive works, such as this piece, that truly challenge the power of modern art. In this area size rug, color trumps pattern, as its field of daringly abrashed blue morphs from azure to sapphire to periwinkle in a continually unexpected way. Naively rendered carmine, slightly tinted natural ivory, and camelhair brown adroitly appears to be set off from this endless sky. The use of an outer frame of unadorned, undyed camelhair brown is an ideal culmination for this minimalistic masterwork. The style's unquestionably unique pattern language, innovative use of shapes, and reliance on the spontaneity that happens at the loom keep their carpets fresh and enormously inventive.

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