Antique Afshar Shahr e Babak Fine Yek Kale Persian Rug, 1920-1940
A viewing is a request, not a booking: we write back within 24 hours to confirm a time, in open hours or out of them. No account needed.
ABOUT THIS PIECE
An antique Afshar Persian rug from Shahr-e Babak, hand-knotted between 1920 and 1940 in lustrous kork wool on cotton, with a stepped lozenge on a red field.
A large stepped lozenge outlined in navy, apricot and ivory fills the field, with a small octagonal medallion at its heart and two columns of rosettes running through it, the single-medallion layout Afshar weavers call yek kaleh. Around it the red ground is scattered with trees, stars, rosettes and small chequered squares, navy corners echo the lozenge's stepped edge, and the border carries a chain of hooked cartouches.
What sets it apart is the wool. It is kork, the fine, soft undercoat from the neck and belly of the sheep, lustrous and so supple that the rug drapes and folds like heavy cloth. The weave is fine for Afshar work, which keeps even the smallest motifs crisp.
The colours are natural dyes, and they show it. The red changes in broad steps down the length of the rug where the weaver moved to a new batch of yarn, and the indigo and the soft madder pink shift with it, at the same height on both sides.
Shahr-e Babak is a town in the mountains of Kerman province in south-east Persia, and one of the centres of Afshar weaving.
The pile is full and even at about 7mm, the sides are the ones it was woven with, the ends have been resecured, and it has never needed repair.
At 225 by 164cm it suits a living room, dining room or study. View it in our Richmond gallery, or explore more antique Persian rugs.
SPECIFICATIONS
How it sits in your room.
225 × 164 CM (7'5" × 5'5"), DRAWN TO SCALE WITH TYPICAL AUSTRALIAN FURNITURE SIZES.
About the length of a 3-seater sofa, so it sits just in front of it with the coffee table on it. Floated like this it reads as a deliberate island rather than a rug that came up short.
The chairs sit on the rug at the table, but with 42 cm of rug beyond the table their back legs catch the edge when pulled out. 60 cm is the comfortable margin.
Only 36 cm of rug would show either side of a queen bed. It works, but 45 cm or more looks settled. At the foot of the bed it suits well.
Measure the room, or just the area the rug should cover, and we will draw this rug in it to scale.
