BLOSSOM SHIRVAN Caucasian Antique Rug

Artfully chosen hues and a crisply drawn assortment of delightful tribal motifs create an entrancing atmosphere in this superb Caucasian Shirvan rug. Sharply crystalline flowerheads and more rounded rosettes vie for space on a field that changes color from cobalt to slate blue at the top. Sawtooth diamond latticework connects with a “ladder” of ivory almond blooms along the vertical axis. The precious shades of green, from pistachio to emerald, were expensive to produce and used sparingly to compelling effect through select abrash color shifts. Notes of tangerine and lemon yellow are also relatively seldom seen. In the Venetian red main border, polychrome mask-like blossoms dangle with curious arrow-shaped buds that are abstract in their geometry. The date cartouche can be seen at the upper left. Minor ivory bands contain eight-pointed starflowers and angular leaves reduced to their most essential. Very good, even pile is found throughout this exceptionally handsome piece.