SHIRVAN
Southeast Caucasian Antique Rug

(Connoisseur-Caliber) ("New Arrivals Gallery") This impressive Caucasian lowland tribal rug was woven near the glorious western coast of the Caspian Sea. It has a profoundly artistic spirit with a sense of spontaneity that shines. Anchoring the center of the field is a deeply inventive design of seven conjoined diamonds with varied interpretations of the “Wheel of Life” representing the fortunes of humankind, also echoed in the cerulean field. Spontaneously rendered nomadic motifs engulf this zone in flashes of celebrative color, while delicate abrash tonal shifts further reveal the astonishing improvisational skill these weavers possessed. Totemic gazelles are drawn in razor-sharp profiles, ready to lend their speed to the owner of this piece. The range of scale in each ornament produces a three-dimensional perspective. It is as though the "larger" elements are in the foreground, while smaller forms appear to recede into the distance. Gear-like flowerheads with semaphore flag centers engage with tiny triangular amulets in the primary ivory band. The fantastic pile condition of this nearly 170-year-old gem triumphantly defies the reality of its great age.

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