Lori Kheshti Garden Persian Rug, Crosses and Birds, 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 vintage Lori Persian rug, hand-knotted in wool on a wool foundation in the mid-20th century, with a kheshti garden of panels holding crosses, birds and trees.
Twenty-one panels sit in three columns of seven, laid out like the plots of a Persian garden: the kheshti, or brick, layout. Teal crosses fill four of them, ivory birds stand in two more, and the rest hold trees, stepped diamonds and checkerboards crossed with ivory X marks. An ivory panel at the centre carries a stepped diamond of its own. The main border repeats ivory hooked motifs on deep brown, between narrow zigzag and triangle guards.
The trees all grow towards one end, so the rug has a top and a bottom, while the two birds stand at right angles to them.
The wool is soft and lustrous, and the rug is supple in the hand. It is knotted on ivory wool warps, with red wool wefts that show on the back.
Brick red, deep brown and teal carry the field, with olive, orange, lavender and ivory picking out the motifs.
The Lors live along the Zagros mountains of western Iran, and the Bakhtiari are one of their branches. Their weavers knot on wool foundations and draw in bold, geometric shapes like these.
The pile is in good condition, even across the rug and of medium depth. The selvedges are the ones it was woven with, the ends have been resecured, and the rug has no repairs.
At 230 by 164cm it suits a living room, the space under a coffee table or a bedroom. View it in our Richmond gallery, or explore more vintage Persian rugs.
SPECIFICATIONS
How it sits in your room.
230 × 164 CM (7'7" × 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.
Under the lower part of a double bed with 46 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.
