QASHQAI SHEKARLU
Southwest Persian Antique Rug

(Connoisseur-Caliber) ("Featured in our ncurrent print catalog") Belonging to the powerful Qashqai Confederacy in the southern Persian Fars province, the Shekarlu nomads wove rugs distinguished by ivory borders and a bevy of motifs suggesting extremely old tribal sources throughout the 19th century. This late piece from their oeuvre presents ivory “weaver’s combs” that contrast dramatically against the deep sapphire background and a general ordering of all the symbols by three cleverly hidden barber pole strands that run from top to bottom of the field. Serrated rosettes with Far Eastern roots slice through the array of symbolically charged geometric botany, flickering diamonds, and whirling solar disks. Supercharged triangular “amulets” line the inner perimeter of the field, fringed by glimmering vermilion latch hooks. The extensive, vibrant color palette, for which they are beloved, glows through top-quality, lanolin-rich Karakul sheep’s wool from their herds that fed on mountain pasture grasses, said to improve their fleece. In the main border, this piece features a minimalist depiction of the “leaf and calyx” motif inspired by rugs from the Caucasus. Intaglio-like jewel chains of “S” glyphs inhabit the outermost frame, an often-used ancient rug decoration that some scholars theorize is vestigial of ancient Zoroastrian practices. This tribal wonder is in fantastic condition, surviving the ravages of time to bring the artistry of the past to the present.

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