79205 Late 19th Century Antique Persian Bibikabad Rug, 10'05 x 13'00.
Woven in the twilight years of the 19th century, this antique Persian Bibikabad rug is a living document of rural artistry and poetic symbolism passed down through generations. Entirely hand-knotted from lustrous wool, it carries the rhythmic pulse of a weaver’s hands and the slow, meditative pace of time itself. Its earthy red field serves as a canvas for an allover composition of Herati motifs—each one a layered emblem of ancient Persian mysticism and natural observation. At the heart of each motif lies a diamond-shaped lattice enclosing a floral rosette, ringed by four curling acanthus leaves. These leaves—rendered with precision and grace—evoke the delicate silhouettes of fish gliding toward the moonlight on water, a visual metaphor for aspiration, serenity, and life in motion.
The Herati motif, so elegantly repeated across the field, functions not merely as decoration but as visual poetry. It speaks to a cosmology rooted in both earthly nature and celestial wonder. With their quiet undulations and soft symmetry, the motifs echo the rhythmic swell of water, the cycles of lunar time, and the organic discipline of Persian garden design. Each element appears both intentional and instinctive, as though the weaver was guided less by a template than by an intimate conversation with the loom. The spacing of the motifs is dense yet never suffocating, balanced so expertly that the eye glides across the composition without hesitation, immersed in a continuous flow of form and meaning.
Framing this Persian masterpiece is a richly detailed botanical border, a structured garland of florals and vines that offers both contrast and containment. Flanked by triple guard bands—each finely rendered and unique in detail—the border becomes a protective threshold, separating the fertile dreamscape of the field from the tangible world beyond. The solid red outer guard border, bold in its restraint, acts as a quiet punctuation mark, grounding the entire composition in chromatic confidence. These framing elements not only elevate the Bibikabad rug’s visual structure but also echo traditional Persian concepts of containment and paradise—where gardens are walled, and beauty is preserved and revered within boundaries.
Altogether, this late 19th-century Bibikabad rug transcends its utilitarian origins to become a woven meditation on harmony, nature, and time. It embodies the spirit of a village workshop where the loom was both tool and shrine—where wool was dyed in earthen vats, and memory was passed not by word but by pattern. The interplay of vibrant dyes, the fluid repetition of Herati motifs, and the measured cadence of the composition lend it an enduring nobility, one that feels both ancient and alive. This is not merely a rug—it is a whispered story in wool, a testament to a weaver’s vision made eternal through knot and color.
- Abrash.
- Hand knotted wool.
- Made in Iran.
- Measures: 10'05 x 13'00.
- Pile Height: 0.18 of an inch.
- Date: 1880's. Late 19th Century.
