SERAPI
Northwest Persian Antique Carpet

(High-Collectible) This tremendously collectible 19th-century carpet embodies an intriguing primitive quality that harkens to earlier Serapi patterns by radiating a folk art drama with ingenious visual rhythms and asymmetries. Its flash of formality is combined with a spontaneous exuberance highly prized in this ancient village style. Its elongated flower and vine-adorned ivory reserve features a stepped shield-shaped centerpiece in dusky vermilion extending into stocky, tightly controlled pendants. A luminous aqua blue surround is alive with botanical abstractions, including four baroque-styled cypress trees that are simultaneously sprouting boteh “Seeds of Life.” Every element appears to sway in the gentle waves, an effect created by exceptionally dextrous abrash color striations in myriad hues. The wide border frame is perfect for the narrow field. It features a playful assortment of grand escutcheon palmettes, feathery leaves, and radial flowerheads that project an animated quality of gentle motion. Its surface glistens with lanolin-rich wool from nearby mountain flocks of Karakul sheep and remains in heavier pile condition.

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