634 - Ghashghai oriental rug (Kashkai), Persia, red lozenge field with medallion, cotton on cotton

Ghashghai oriental rug (Kashkai), Persia, red lozenge field with medallion, cotton on cotton Cotton on cotton, oriental rug, Ghashghai, Persia, Fars province. Red lozenge-shaped field with a small-scale all-over pattern of geometric flowers and branches, at the centre a dark blue lozenge medallion with an ivory hooked ornament. Dark blue spandrels, each with an ivory hooked motif. Several borders, including a dark brown border with rows of rosettes and a flowering vine and a blue outer border with hourglass motifs. Heavily used condition, partly somewhat frayed, a small hole at one corner, fringes partly cut. 221x139 cm (LxW). The Ghashghai, also spelt Kashkai, are a confederation of nomadic tribes in the southern Iranian province of Fars. Their weaving areas lie around Shiraz; traditionally the tribes migrated between the winter pastures in the south and the summer pastures in the Zagros Mountains. A Qashqai rug shows medallions, small geometric scattered motifs such as lozenges and stars, and several narrow borders with geometric patterns. Strong red, deep blue, warm yellow and natural white define the colour palette of these nomadic rugs from southern Iran.