Antique Shahsavan Zarand Persian Kilim Rug, Late 19th Century

An antique Shahsavan Persian kilim from north-west Persia, hand-woven in wool in the late 19th century, in bands of hooked medallions and stripes across a room-sized flatweave.

Wide bands of ivory and gold carry rows of hooked, stepped medallions in brick red, indigo and ivory, and between them run narrow bands of S-hooks and fine stripes in red, gold, indigo and a dark brown. It is the banded grammar the Shahsavan have woven for two centuries, drawn here tight and sure, and at 310 by 185cm it is one of the larger examples of the type.

The dyes are what a collector looks for first. The brick red is madder and drifts within its own stripes, the indigo breaks to a green-black where it was laid over another colour, the gold is a clear old yellow, and the dark brown sits lower than the wool beside it, the corrosion that an iron-mordanted brown takes on over a century. There is nothing sharp or flat anywhere in the palette.

It is woven in handspun wool on cotton warps, and both ends are finished with the plied red-and-ivory cord the weaver braided into them, which is the part of a kilim of this age most often lost and here is complete. It has never needed repair.

A flatweave of this scale suits a living room or a large hallway, and lies flat and light on the floor. View it in our Richmond gallery, or explore more antique and vintage Persian rugs.