Antique Tabriz Runner BB5251 3'2" × 23'8" $18,000

This antique Tabriz runner rug in gold is an interesting combination of the traditional and modern. Throughout the antique carpet, a shape called “boteh” is a recurring theme. A pear-shaped figure often used in Oriental rug designs and similar to the paisley pattern, the boteh may represent a leaf, bush or a pinecone. Yet this stunning Tabriz runner carpet is also clearly representative of modern, abstract themes. Coming from the city of Tabriz, populated entirely by Azerbaijani citizens in the north west of Iran, it is part of a tradition that boasts one of the oldest rug weaving centers and makes a huge diversity of types of carpets, with especially fine knot density (indicative of high quality of hand-knotted rugs) and strings materials typically made of cotton or silk. It is not surprising that such a unique antique was produced in this tradition.