Early 20th Century Persian Sultanabad Brown, Beige, Taupe Handwoven Wool Rug BB3554 11'4" × 13'3" $50,000

An early 20th century Persian antique sultanabad rug, the cream field, having a garden-inspired design with flowering shrubs, trees, and bold curving feathery leaves within a brownish gray floral vinery border.

For the more restrained Western taste, traditional designs were recolored to be more subtle and obliging. Traditional local dying techniques were improved and brought up to the standards of the latest methods of the time, creating new possibilities of color and tonality. With bold, allover patterns and softer palettes than their vibrant Persian counterparts, antique Persian rugs and carpets attracted an immediate following leading to high demand for Oriental carpetsfrom the Sultanabad district. Appealing to everyone from aristocrats to the newly-moneyed industrialists who sought to emulate them, a large number of antique oriental rugs were exported from Persia to both Europe and the United States up until the early twentieth century.