3'5" x 4'3"

MARASALI dated 1301 A.H. (about 1885 A.D.)

A rare piece of craftsmanship. The main figure is a royal personage, to judge from his crown and jewelled sword. There are delicate touches of lavender silk on the horse and rider. If the other animal is meant to be a deer, the story illustrated is probably that of Bahram Gur, the famous Persian huntsman. The portrayal is delightfully childish and primitive in spirit. It is interesting to compare the awkward treatment of the "realistic" figures with the easy grace of the more natural stick figure animals which are included wherever space permits. The date in the upper corner is 1301 A.H., about 1885 A.D.

3' x 5'5"

KAZAK Early 19th Century

An outstandingly spontaneous and well-preserved early Kazak. This charming rug typifies the boldness of color, simplicity of pattern and unselfconsciousness of design which are the hallmarks of a great Kazak rug. The date is illegible, as is often the case with inscriptions woven by illiterate weavers. No part of the pattern is consistently repeated within the rug; motifs change, are left uncompleted, new colors are added as old dyelots are exhausted. In the center a small animal, perhaps a goat, stands squarely on four stick legs. This Kazak is a classic example of unspoiled folk-art.

SHIRVAN Circa 1850

This village rug is a masterpiece of peasant craftsmanship. The beauty is in the simplicity of repeated geometrical design. Although it looks symmetrical no two corresponding designs are exactly alike. The greatest interest in this rug is the difficulty the weavers experienced in dyeing the background blue color. Whenever a batch of yarn was used, a new batch was dyed. At every instance the blue coloring was of different intensity. The yarn was used without concern that it did not match the yarn they had been using.This is the type of rug that was brought to Boston by Clipper Ships. There are many rugs in New England homes of this period.

4'6" x 7'5"