478. a supreme antique Meshed Persian carpet

478. Provenance: Meshed (or Mashad), Khorossan Province, NE Persia

Size: 323 x 232 cm

Age: Circa 1920

Condition: Good.

Notes: Classic 'cool' colours of Mashad, which ooze restrained sophistication. All natural dyes, particularly notable is the magenta-red, 'Carmine', which is made from the crushed conchineal beetles (which feed off a certain cactus). It takes about 70,000 insects to make one pound of the dye. The carpet design with strong central medallion and cream coloured corner spandrels has great elegance. The border is especially splendid and the natural abrush (variation in colour tone), especially in the light indigo blue is wonderful.