World Class Bijar Still Available! Cypress and Willow Design with Tree of Life.

I studied this rug in depth yesterday and it only became more beautiful the longer I looked.  Noticing the many nuances of it's detailed drawing I did find the intentional mistake.  In fact, I found two.  My hint is that the rug is not exactly the same from left to right, nor top to bottom yet perfectly balanced in color and design.  That takes skill.  To find the intentional mistakes, you may have to come and see this wonderful work of art in person.  You are invited!    

www.paradiseorientalrugs.com

This piece is 10'3 x 13'9".

http://www.paradiseorientalrugs.com/gallery/

A Few New Beautiful Persian Rugs Added to my Collection and a Video!

Recently acquired and available for sale now.  Have a look at the quick video I made today.  Some lovely pieces!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-suqpM2uLQ

Vintage Turkoman Rugs.

I recently purchased two very nice older Turkoman pieces that will be arriving at my gallery soon. One is out for a bath and the other is visiting me at home for a few days before I bring it in! Don't be too shocked as many of the amazing rugs I have offered in the last few years have been my houseguests for at least a couple days.  You see, I really do love this woven art form!  OK, so before I sent the 7 x 10 out for a wash I took a few photos, so here you are.

This design is actually on the cover of a book I have on Turkoman rugs and in the 20 plus years I have only seen two of these.  The dyes look good (plant based) and as any genuine tribal rug of this type the foundation is wool.  It has a 1 & 1/2 inch kilim skirt (flat weave) at the top and the bottom and some lovely dark green accents throughout the body of the rug. There are two distinctive reds in this piece, one is a rich darker wine red, the other a softer medium red. If you are looking for a vintage Turkoman rug, this is a lovely piece.  It will be up on my site the moment I have it back and will do my best to get accurate photos.  
Vintage Turkoman Carpet, Circa: 1950's, 7' x 10'

www.paradiseorientalrugs.com

8 x 10 Heriz Rug woven in Afghanistan.

Just uploaded a new video to my You Tube channel of a very pretty 8 x 10 Heriz rug from my gallery.
Have a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ8IOSuzQeo

Symbols found in a Persian Qashqai tribal rug.

I recently received and email from a couple that had been given a Qashqai tribal rug as a gift  for their engagement.  They had been in possession of the rug for only a week but were fully enamored with the endless details of the drawing and color combinations.  

The email read, "My wife and I were wondering if you could take a few minutes to look over our rug.  We have been progressively interested in the "behind the scenes" knowledge of Persian rugs and have been spending quite a bit of our free time researching the web to get as much information as possible.  That is where we came across your excellent web site!  We only know it is a Kashghai.  We found it incredibly entertaining to look at and it has added some magic to our house for sure!  We were not able to figure out the meaning of the main central symbol.  Also, on one side of the rug there are some numbers?  The other thing is that our rug does not have a standard border configuration   Is it that unusual?  We would be very grateful for any feedback you might be able to give us about our Persian rug."

My response is below.

Dear Paolo and Ilaria,

The design element in the main central medallion and each of the 4 corners of this rug, where it is repeated, represents a scarab beetle. I do see two small borders on the right and left sides of the rug which are smaller than usual but design wise very well done.  One of the borders is continued at the top and bottom of the rug. The line going up the middle of the rug with simple branches leading to and away from the medallion is a simple rendition of the Tree of Life. The numbers you are actually seeing are S's.  A bit messy but none-the-less a frequent symbol used in Southern Persian tribal rugs.  They each represent dragons.  The design (drawing), colors and wool all look very good from what I can see in your photos.  My best guess is that some of the dyes in this piece are from natural sources but a few of the colors, such as the orange may be from chrome dyes.  Overall, you have a very nice rug!  Here is link that may be of assistance to you with more info on rug symbols.  http://www.arastan.com/journey/carpet-motifs-beginners-guide

Hope that helps.
Penny Krieger
www.paradiseorientalrugs.com

---------------------
Dear Penny,

Thank you so much for your feedback and explanations on your rug!  We appreciated it. Please feel free to use our pictures and email request on your blog. We are based in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK!

Kind Regards,
Paolo and Ilaria :)

PS The link sent is very interesting, thanks!

San Francisco Tribal & Textile Arts Show February 2013

This show will be at Fort Mason, in SF, February 8-10, 2013.

The show is always fascinating and one of the best in the world!  I will be there and recommend it to anyone interested in antique tribal art and textiles! 

Here's the link! http://www.caskeylees.com/SF_Tribal/SF_Tribal.html

What is a Persian Rug? What is an Oriental Persian Rug?

Sometimes a simple definition can help one understand a subject better.

A Persian rug: a hand woven rug or carpet made in Iran.  The term carpet in relation to this subject denotes a larger size but often the terms are interchangeable.  An antique Persian rug indicates an age of 100 years or more, strictly speaking.

Persia was officially renamed Iran in 1935 according to Merriam Webster's Geographical Dictionary.  If you look at this map of the former Persian Empire you can see that the borders were quite different in ancient times and have continued to change throughout history. My point being, if an antique rug was woven in 1850 in what was then classified as Persia it would still be considered a Persian rug, even if that location is not exactly within the current Iranian borders.

Oriental rug is the more general term for handwoven rugs and carpets.  An Oriental rug can be from India, China, Romania, Egypt, Afghanistan, Turkey or numerous other countries where they are woven.  Additional common terms in use are: Afghan rug, Chinese rug or Turkish rug but these are all, also Oriental Rugs.  

Is there such a thing as a Persian Oriental Rug?  Yes.  This would be an Oriental rug woven in Iran.
The term Persian Oriental rug is not widely used but logically applicable.  I noticed recently a number of searches with this phrasing so just thought I would comment on it.

Are machine woven rugs made in Iran?  Yes.  Very surprising but true.  Just do a simple search on Google for Iranian machine woven rugs and you will see numerous manufacturers.

If you're interested in Oriental rug definitions, have a look at my Definitions  page on my web site.

Below are a few unique Persian Rugs from my gallery.  The rugs featured are Persian tribal rugs.
The term "tribal" is defined on my definitions page for those of you new to the subject!

  

If you would like to see more beautiful rugs here is my site: 

Paradise Oriental Rugs

Persian Tribal Rug in Contemporary Home!

Both of these photos were forwarded to me recently by a client featuring her new rug purchased at my gallery, Paradise Oriental Rugs, Inc. 

In the first photo you can clearly see the focal point of this living room is the stunning blue painting on the back wall.  I believe the rug works well in this space as it brings all together yet does not distract from the painting.  The clean lines and fantastic use of color in this home are impressive and demonstrate that not every color in a rug has to match exactly in order to be successfully placed.  This rug has a detailed tribal design but when seen as a whole does not appear to be busy or overwhelming in any way.

It is always very enjoyable for me to see photos of the rugs I sell in their new locations, so please do not hesitate to share when the mood strikes you.  For comments or suggestions you can always email me at: afsharlady@aol.com  Penny

Tree of Life Tribal Rug "at home!" in Santa Rosa, California.

I recently sold this Tree of Life rug to a client here in Sonoma County.  I believe this piece and the hallway runner shown in the last photo work quite well.  One of the factors involved in selecting the correct rug for the client's living room was the fact she had an extensive art collection displayed on her walls.

The living room was not large.  Her skillful decorating resulted in the space being very open and inviting. Additionally, there was an amazing piece of handmade furniture (the handmade credenza on the back wall) that one would not want to distract from.  What was needed was an aesthetically pleasing rug with the exact colors to pull all the art and furnishings together AND that emanated a peaceful, calming mood.  Also and always of paramount importance was finding a rug and runner that the client responded to emotionally and artistically.  Always the challenge.

I am pleased to say that this client's choices for her home could not have been better!

Just thought I would share.
www.paradiseorientalrugs.com
 
   

What are Oriental Rug Trappings?

The word trapping was originally used to describe decorative or utilitarian ornaments for horses such as bridle, saddle, blankets, etc. An early definition from the 1913 edition of Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary states: "Specifically, ornaments to be put on horses."  Other definitions I found included the terms adornments and decorations. 

Oriental rug trappings are functional of decorative items woven by tribal weavers used within the nomadic encampment or in their pastoral lifestyle.  A few examples are saddlebags, grain sacks (balashts) and storage bags which are called torbas.  Additional examples are tent bands, spindle bags, salt bags, and horse covers. 

Bag face: The front of an old or antique saddlebag, sometimes also called bag front.  Many collectors delight in these pieces as each tribal group has their own iconography, colors, wool type, etc.  Here are a few examples, the first two of which are from my private collection.

For more Oriental rug definitions, I invite you to the definitions page on my site.
Oriental Rug Definitions 

                                            Antique Qasqai Saddlebag 

                                                 Antique Kurdish Torba          
                                   

Antique Balouch Torba  

                                           http://www.paradiseorientalrugs.com/