746. an utterly whimsical Malayer/Hamadan Persian rug

746. Provenance: Malayer (?), Hamadan region, Western Persia

Age: c 1930

Size: 237 x 140 cm

Condition: Good.

Notes: A beautifully niaive, almost childlike rug, both in it's design and colourscheme. It reminds us that such village pieces, close as they are to their tribal roots, are very much the creation of the individual woman (or perhaps mother and daughter) who wove it, with all the artistic quirks and idiosyncracies that that entails. This weaver seems to have had a great sense of fun and somewhat wild spirit. It also combines a rather crude, geometric rendition of a floral scheme with more tribal elements - the four spandrels (corner decoratives) contain what appear to be headless four leged animal forms. To top it all, the rug also has an intensely pleasing abrush - the natural variation in hue which comes from inconsistencies in the batch dyes, and the density of the handspun wool. Oh, and it's a somewhat unusual and highly useful size. Awsome.