Afshar rug, Exhibition ‘South Persian Tribal Rugs’

Afshar rug

from southern Persia

circa 1880

Size: 195 x 130 cm

The Afshar are a turkic speaking tribe which incorporates both settled and nomadic people. They are of Central Asian stock and migrated, probably in the 10th and 11th centuries, to the province of Azerbaidjan in the northwest of Persia.  Some groups later settled in other parts of north Persia and Turkey. However, the group best known for its fine carpets still inhabits the area south of Kirman in southern Persia. This is a beautiful and early Afshar rug with a rather cool range of colour and exquisite drawing of flowers and serrated leaves on a soft camel coloured ground. It is in reasonably good pile but the price reflects the damage which has occurred in the middle of the rug.