Sarab runner

Sarab runner

from northern Persia

late 19th century

Size: 326 x 106 cm

Rugs attributed to Sarab are most usually ‘kenareh’ (runners) or ‘kelleghi’ (carpets proportionally twice as long as they are wide). The other common feature of older Sarab weavings is the abundant use of undyed camel hair or undyed sheep’s wool of a camel tone.

Here, colourful stylised ‘shrub’ motifs float on a dark brown ground surrounded by a wide undecorated camel ground border where striated variations in the camel colour add to the visual depth and movement. These horizontal changes in tone are known as  ‘abrash’ in rug parlance. The spontaneity of design and naturally derived colour add great charm to this piece.