Authentic Persian Kirman Handmade Wool Carpet

A late 19th century Southeast Persian Kirman (Kerman) antique rug, the abrashed light brown field with an allover design of staggered enlarged palmettes surrounded by feathery leaves and floral motifs within a restrained dark blue floral motif border.

During the sixteenth century, Shah Abbas I reportedly gave antique Kirman rugs embroidered with gold and silver thread as tribute to the Ottoman Court. The fame of these oriental weavings rapidly spread across Western Europe. From the mid sixteenth century through the eighteenth century, the city of Kirman was celebrated for 'vase' carpets, a term deriving from the depiction of vase motifs in many examples woven there. By the nineteenth century, Kirman was recognized for exceptional in the best Persian tradition. Antique Persian Kirman carpets of this period, especially the Lavar group woven in the town of Ravar, are known for their fine weave, delicate drawing, incomparable range of color, and are still much in demand today.