A Senna prayer kilim, Northwest Persia,

Dodds, Dennis et al., Oriental Rugs from Atlantic Collections, Philadelphia 1996, pl. 268. 

Senna was an important regional center and the provincial capital of Persian Kurdistan in the early 19th century, during the reign of Fat'h Ali Shah. Influenced by the sophisticated embroidered and woven textiles of the Qajar period, rather than by local or tribal traditions, Senna prayer kilims are a small and rare group of weavings that are known for their exceptionally fine slit tapestry-weave, and for being the only group of Persian kilims using the prayer rug format. Unlike most Persian kilims, the wefts of these kilims are often not perpendicular to the warps, but are carved to give the design a more rounded effect in areas. The present lot is a particularly interesting and unusual example, as it is not decorated with the typical boteh design-elements, but rather with an overall herati pattern. Also, here the differentiation between sections of the field is achieved primarily by a change in palette and not in design, as in most Senna prayer kilims, where the field above the arch of the mihrab is often striped. Related Senna prayer kilims that have appeared at auction include Sotheby's New York, November 23, 1985, lot 25, and Sotheby's London, October 19, 1994, lot 97 and April 27, 2005, lot 23. For further discussion of this group, see Petsopoulos, Yanni, "The Qajar kilims of Senna," Hali, Issue 31, 1986, pp.42-47.