BAKSHAISH
Northwest Persian Antique Carpet

(Connoisseur-Caliber) Carpets from the mountain village of Bakshaish, such as this large room-size piece still in wonderful condition, exemplify an inspired folk artistry of ancient origin. Its compound "double medallion" begins with a diamond in burnished gold with a single blossom head at its center, encompassed by dangling oak leaves and tiny horizontally aligned boteh seeds. Potent pendants are the progenitors of botanical forms inhabiting the rose madder outer zone that pours its color into two other spiky trefoils present above and below. In a narrow sea of luscious blue-green tonalities, additional fascinating forms course around the hexagonal circuit. The entire composition undergoes a fascinatingly subtle compression in its upper half. Colossal corner spandrels of striated sunset sandstone contain a plethora of archetypally transformed floral devices that become objects of continual discovery. Happily, no two designs are quite the same, offering a whimsical, fun-filled tune written by these Bakshaish artists from another time. The warm, sensual color palette results from skillful brewmasters. They derived these charming tonalities from hand-gathered ingredients elaborated into umpteen gradients of hue to achieve the delicate textures and successful color shifts that enliven the whole.

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