Description

This antique Persian Gabbeh comes from the southwest of the country and dates to around 1900.

The term Gabbeh means “carpet with a deep pile”, so is a purely descriptive term. These rugs were made for domestic use rather than to be sold. They frequently served as floor coverings to sleep on in the tents during migration to the high pastures. Very often, they have simple geometric designs such as squares and diamonds, and simplified versions of, as in this case, plants, and people and animals.

They must be seen as original creations, as we said in a past exhibition on Gabbehs: Ancient Patterns – Abstract Art.

The rug is woven in glossy wool on a wool pile, with up to five brown wool wefts to produce the soft, floppy handle typical of antique Gabbehs.