Khorasan Kurdish Rug
Persia, around 1930
wool on wool
265 x 140 cm,

The highly skilled Kurdish weavers of Khorasan in Northeast Persia were relocated by the Persian shahs in the 17th and 18th centuries to serve as a military buffer against the threatening Uzbeks and Turkmen. Over the past 300 years, they have incorporated designs from their Baluch and Turkmen neighbors. As with this rug which offers a wonderful variety of Turkmen Guls that would never be seen together on a Turkmen rug. These rugs can be distinguished by a softer, more varied color palette and an inspirational use of filler motifs such as flowers. Kurds always use the symmetrical knot, while the Baluch and Turkoman primarily use the asymmetrical knot.