Kashan flag rug

Woven with soft and glistening Manchester wool, this central Persian mat copies a popular American embroidery design of a bald eagle grasping the American flag. While the American textiles from which this piece was inspired date largely to the late 19th and turn of the century, the eagle depicted here almost seems to anticipate the Art Deco style of the 1920s. Such small knotted pile mats were woven in several Persian weaving centers for what was at the time a new orientation towards the emerging American market. This is a stellar example of the type.