19th Century Bessarabian Beige and Brown Handmade Wool Rug BB4163 11'2" × 13'4" $75,000

A late 19th century Russian Bessarabian antique rug having a restrained overall lozenge lattice overall containing floral roundels in a palette of beige, brown and orange within a dark brown border of voluptuous blossoming vine.

Bessarabian rugs and carpets are the commonly given name for antique European carpets in pile and tapestry technique originating in Russian provinces as well as Ukraine and Moldova during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some scholars will classify flat-woven carpets as Bessarabian, while referring to knotted-pile carpets as Ukrainian. They are predominantly from an area corresponding to modern Bulgaria and Romania.3 Produced under late Ottoman rule, they stand right on the cusp of European and Oriental carpet weaving.