A RARE BAKSHAISH NICHE RUG, NORTHWEST PERSIA

Sotheby's New York, 20 January, 2012, Lot 132

There are a small number of Bakshaish niche rugs, with a field decorated with multiple trees and urns, usually on a dark blue ground such as the piece from The Collection of Robert P. Hendrikson, Sotheby’s New York, 31 January 2014, lot 155 and the example illustrated in James D. Burns, Visions of Nature, Iceland, 2010, pp. 50-51, pl. 8. This design with a single tree on a white ground is perhaps unique. Herrman comments on this rug: “This charming piece with a rare white ground inner field, in contrast to those with a dark ground, presents the moon tree design defining the path through many cosmic moon levels. The tip of the gateway is the starting point for the inclined vertical axis 91.5°/271.5° while the niche itself is directed to the vertical 90° axis, while the niche angle is 90° - 3°. Left and right side have slightly different geometries caused by angular lines 48.8°/134.3° in relation to the moon declination angle from the tip of the gateway. Slowly we will become aware of the enormous work the naqshbandis (the connoisseurs of astromathematics) provided in the naqqash chanehs over more than 800 years.”

Please note that due to recent changes in the U.S. law, carpets and rugs of Iranian/Persian origin can no longer be imported into the U.S