Afshar Oversize Sineriz Persian Kilim Rug

An oversize Afshar Persian kilim from the Kerman mountains of south-east Persia, hand-woven in wool in the second quarter of the 20th century, in the Sineriz design.

A dark ground carries row upon row of stepped diamonds in orange, ivory, burgundy and slate blue, each with a small cross at its centre, between bands of hooked motifs. Across the whole field lie the tiny soumak-brocaded stars that give the Sineriz its name, worked over the weave in ivory. The stars are how the Afshar mark their finest flatweaves, and the denser they lie the finer the piece. Here they cover the field.

The colours are natural dyes, and every one of them carries abrash, the tonal drift within a single colour that comes of small hand-dyed lots, so the orange, the burgundy and the blue each shift softly across the field. It was woven on a nomadic loom, in handspun wool on cotton warps, and at 369 by 231cm it is a size those looms very rarely produce. Afshar kilims of this age are usually a third of it. An oversize piece in the finest of the Afshar designs is a rare thing, and this is the only one in the gallery.

At nine square metres it is a full room size, and a flatweave of this scale suits a living room or a large dining space, where its scale can be read. View it in our Richmond gallery, or explore more vintage Persian rugs.