Malayer – Northwest Persia

A Persian gallery carpet from the end of the 19th century, in excellent wool and perfect condition. Down the navy-blue field marches a row of four connected medallions in radiant orange — stepped, latch-hooked, and glowing against the darkness like lanterns in a corridor. The slate-blue border answers with stylized blossoms in the same amber tones. The great distinction of this Malayer is its abrash: the natural variation in the navy and orange shades left by hand-dyed wool, which sweeps across the surface like weather across a landscape and turns this antique gallery into a work of art. A rare format, made for grand hallways — and for collectors who read rugs the way others read paintings.

The abrash sweeping the field — natural tonal variation of the indigo from artisanal dyeing — lends the piece rare depth; the kelleh format is among the scarcest in Malayer weaving.