FERAHAN, West Central Persian
3' 5" x 4' 10" Late 19th Century Price: $4,500
(High-Decorative)
("New Arrivals Gallery") This incredibly finely knotted 130-140-year-old Ferahan mat reveals the depths of the elite Ferahan style's great creative originality, where occasionally an Avante Guard showpiece such as this breaks the mold of earlier designs. Its veritable sea of stylized botehs ("Seed of Life" forms) and delightful bird motifs combine into a rhythmic allover pattern. The multi-niche spandrels that frame the field contain a menagerie of creative, continually changing motifs to be discovered. The well-dyed palette is restricted to indigo, khaki, and an arresting red-orange hue, focusing attention on its adventurous pattern. This tremendous crispness of drawing is vividly seen in the chiseled contours of its borders. Its extraordinarily good condition is yet another strong suite.