Bakhtiari

Seizing on Northwest Persian garden carpet design of the eighteenth century, a favorite theme of Bakhtiari weavers of western Persia at the turn of the century became individually encapsulated trees or flowering shrubs repeated in a field of rows and columns of boxes. These pieces were woven well into the 20th century and often convey a subtle but charming naivety of design. This piece is markedly different and more refined. The weave is particularly fine for a Bakhtiari, allowing for greater detailing and individuation among each of the trees depicted. Foliage is rendered cheerfully in each of the two varieties with both subtle and drastic articulations of shape and color. The luminosity of the wool is matched by stellar use of saturated vegetable dyes and an adeptly utilized contrast of ivory against deep indigo and madder-red.