Sultanabad carpet

Great Sultanabad carpets blend bold design elements with compelling scale and a rich sophisticated palette. This piece does not disappoint. Three columns of large-scale ornament derived from an eighteenth-century Persian floral ‘harshang’ design are gracefully executed within the all-over field. Voluminous, vertically oriented palmettes are matched with a smaller, more oval horizontal subset. Curvilinear arabesques meander from a group of elements drawn in the outer columns, while an angular quatrefoil form is seen throughout the central one. The distinctive slate blue ground is balanced by an ochre border, as well as by tones of mustard, olive and rose throughout the field. This masterful Persian weaving is timeless, and can work successfully in a variety of interiors.