A rare early square size antique Bakshaish carpet dating from 1890 in great condition, with a super soft wool pile. More often Bakshaish carpets were woven in larger sizes and often with bold geometric designs, and vivid colours. Their designs can be quite abstract and nearly always comprised of a central motif which sprawls out in one large design to the corner spandrels or with a smaller medallion inside a larger medallion.  Often they produced bold all over designs with large geometric palmettes like this piece.This exquisite earlier piece however uses a more subtle geometric all over design with large stylised leaves and smaller floral designs in the centre.  Generally older pieces were more open than younger examples woven from the Heriz region in the North of Persia.  The charm and characteristics of antique carpets from this region woven in the late 19th century are simply wonderful.Woven with amazing colours, the variety of blues, greens, golds and subtle pinkish backgr...