Qashqai Rug

This beautiful antique Qashqai rug was hand-woven in Fars province of south-west Iran and would have been brought to market in the Capital city of Shiraz, near the ancient city of Persepolis. The Qashqa’i tribes who weave these beautiful rugs are particularly well known for their use of vibrant colours, achieved through high quality, hand spun and often natural dyed yarns. The designs are well executed showing Caucasian influence, with the “chain medallions” frequently encountered, along with combs, stylised birds and animals. They are woven on a horizontal ground loom, with a foundation of ivory woollen warps and characteristically red dyed wefts, having edges over wrapped in different coloured yarns producing an attractive barber’s pole effect.