Qashqai Rug - c.1880
Iran - Lori people
Wool and vegetal dye - 218 cm x 136 cm
The rugs made by the nomadic Qashqai people in Iran became famous after Mark Rothko mentioned them as a major source of inspiration for his first abstract paintings. True enough, these rugs, in their simplicity of patterns, made of high-quality wool and dyed with colors that strike us by their vibrancy, have a pure and quite modern appeal despite their age. Dating from the 1880s, the rug presented here was probably a wedding gift, which explains the more refined execution and the three embroidered flowers. As from the 1920s on, the Qashqai started to settle down, and only a small minority of them continued to adhere to a nomadic life.
