Overview
An exceptional early 20th-century Persian gabbeh rug measuring 7' x 4'9", woven with a radiant goldenrod field and playful tribal motifs in indigo, crimson, baby blue, and chocolate brown. The rug has exceptional provenance and a graphically striking composition exemplifying the spontaneity and artistic freedom that make early nomadic gabbehs highly collectible. Suitable for use on the floor or as a decorative wall-hanging .
The transcendent arrangement and lustrous wool of this gabbeh stretch the artistic limits of rural village weaving from early 20th-century nomadic weavers. The cheerfully warm field is dappled with bold, diamond-shaped motifs arranged in a loose constellation around a central totem, which links five small pendants at center.
The composition is playful and the color palette is unusually rich and inviting. A velvety goldenrod field is a rarity—the work of natural dye expertise among village weavers—and it provides a radiant background dappled with accents in deep indigo, baby blue, crimson, and chocolate brown. The motion imparted by this arrangement calls to mind the twinkling of stars in the night sky.
Use, Background, and Provenance
This rug is a gabbeh, a short-pile weaving used as a sleeping rug by nomadic herders. Until the closing decades of the twentieth century, Western dealers and collectors ignored the gabbeh in favor of carpets in more formal, classical motifs produced by artisan workshops to suit Western decorating paradigms. Only in recent decades has the artistic merit of gabbehs been more widely recognized, leading to widespread imitation, frequently executed in middling quality. Like flatweaves and other tribal productions, early examples like this rug have come to be seen as pieces of high collectability due to their expressiveness and originality.
This rug comes from the personal collection of the late Swedish textile expert Peter Wilborg, an authority in on minimalist weaving and the author of several books on weaving and textiles.
Condition and Use
The rug is in very good antique condition. A few knots of worn pile have been re-woven. It is suitable for use on the floor or as a piece of wall art. One of a kind.
