12 x 15 Antique Persian Bakshaish Rug 79229

79229 Late 19th Century Antique Persian Bakshaish Rug, 12'01 x 15'06.

Woven beneath the vast skies of northwest Persia in the final decades of the 19th century, this hand-knotted wool antique Persian Bakshaish rug is a masterful relic of nomadic expression and ancestral geometry. At its heart rests a monumental stepped lozenge medallion, dark and powerful against a vibrant red ground—a fortress of form enclosing a resplendent red quatrefoil. This emblem, bold and symbolic, is adorned with ancient tribal motifs: Ram’s Horns curve with strength and virility, Bereket motifs whisper prayers for fertility and abundance, and watchful Goz amulets serve as guardians against the evil eye. Esoteric glyphs drawn from memory and myth congregate within the medallion’s chambers, each one encoded with meanings older than language, passed down through loom and lore.

Encircling the central quatrefoil, a midnight indigo medallion shimmers like the cosmos, populated by serrated leaves, totemic birds, and blossoming rosettes. These figures seem to orbit the medallion like constellations, echoing both the wildness of nature and the spiritual geometry of Persian tribal cosmology. The birds—delicate yet assertive—invoke messengers of blessings and protection, while the jagged foliage evokes vitality in motion. The layered dialogue between the central red medallion and the indigo sky around it creates a dramatic tension—a push and pull between earthly domain and celestial mystery.

The red field, richly saturated and poetically abrashed, is alive with energy. It serves not only as a backdrop but as a narrative plane, teeming with tribal emblems—stars, stylized blossoms, ladder forms, and talismanic creatures—each set adrift in harmonious disarray. Outlining this red expanse is a light brown contour, a kind of quiet river meandering along the field’s perimeter, embellished with delicate light blue florals and slender red vines. This contour subtly reins in the exuberant field, acting as a lyrical transition between the emotional fervor of the core and the grounded serenity of the spandrels and border.

The royal blue corner spandrels offer a vibrant counterpoint that enlivens the composition with a sense of grounded clarity and radiant contrast. Within this captivating design, fantastical abstractions emerge—floral emblems, serrated leaves, Hamsa, boteh and rosettes etched in tones of rose, sky blue, and tan. They act as celestial chambers—liminal spaces between the sacred center and the tribal frontier. The interplay of colors here is nothing short of masterful, with nuanced blues and earthen reds brushing against each other like twilight and ember.

Framing the entire composition is a stately tribal border rendered on a deep navy blue ground, pulsing with life. Stylized blossoms and geometric medallions march in unbroken rhythm, flanked by an inner and outer ivory floral meander guard band—elegant scrolls that trace the eternal cycles of growth and return. This border doesn’t simply contain the rug; it completes it, acting as both a visual and symbolic boundary. Within this enclosure lies a living archive of tribal identity, a textile of power and poetry, resilience and reverence. In this Bakshaish masterpiece, we do not merely see a rug—we encounter a sacred geography, a woven soul made timeless by the hands that summoned it.

• Abrash.
• Hand knotted wool.
• Made in Iran.
• Measures: 12'01 x 15'06.
• Pile Height: 0.18 of an inch.
• Date: 1880's. Late 19th Century.