Fine Lavar Kerman Khatam Persian Rug, Mid 20th Century
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
A fine Lavar Kerman Persian rug from south-east Persia, hand-knotted in kork wool on cotton between 1940 and 1960, in the khatam design.
The field is worked edge to edge in khatam, the tessellating star-and-cross mosaic that Persian marquetry is named for, rendered in miniature: rosettes and eight-pointed stars in navy, teal, camel and gold, each a few knots across, with a slender lobed medallion and its pendants at the centre. Wide borders carry the same mosaic on a blue ground. It is a design that only works at this fineness, and Lavar is where it was woven best.
The wool is kork, the soft undercoat that grows beneath the outer fleece, taken from the neck and underbelly where it is finest. It is a fraction of what a sheep yields and it has to be separated by hand, which is why it was reserved for work like this, and it is what gives the surface its sheen and the rug its soft, cloth-like fall. It is knotted on a cotton foundation, and the pile is full and even across the whole rug.
The palette is the quiet one Kerman is known for: navy and teal against camel and ivory, with a gold that carries the drawing and small notes of rose and olive in the flowers. Nothing in it is loud.
At 385 by 268cm it is a full room size. A companion piece of the same design and period, 372 by 286cm, is also in the collection. View them in our Richmond gallery, or explore more vintage Persian rugs.
SPECIFICATIONS
How it sits in your room.
385 × 268 CM (12'8" × 8'10"), DRAWN TO SCALE WITH TYPICAL AUSTRALIAN FURNITURE SIZES.
A 4-seater sofa along the long side with its front legs on the rug and 63 cm of rug past each arm, a coffee table on the rug, and two armchairs facing it.
A 240 × 100 cm table with 84 cm of rug beyond its sides and 73 cm past its ends, so the chairs stay on the rug when they are pulled out.
Under the lower part of a king bed with 101 cm of rug showing on each side, so your feet land on it either side of the bed.
Measure the room, or just the area the rug should cover, and we will draw this rug in it to scale.
