Antique Persian Tabriz Handmade Wool Carpet BB2429 9'0" × 11'10" $18,000

An early 20th century Persian Tabriz rug, the dusty peach field with a subtle trellis overall of cloudbands, delicate flowering vinery and palmettes within a cocoa brown palmette and tree border.

Tabriz, the capital of the northwestern Iranian province of Azerbaijan, has for centuries enjoyed a great reputation as a center of Persian culture. Under the benign patronage of Shah Abbas the Great (1587-1629), artists and artisans designed illuminated manuscripts, embroidered silks, painted miniatures and fabricated metal work in the Safavid style. It was in this fertile, creative atmosphere that the weavers of Tabriz Persian rugs for the Court were inspired to reach for new artistic heights and created exceptional antique oriental rugs and carpets. The art of carpet-weaving was handed down from generation to generation and considered a family treasure, allowing artists to ply a respected trade. The early eighteenth century saw the end of the Safavid Empire and the decline of the town of Tabriz with its legendary craftsmanship falling into disuse.