How big are Qashqai rugs usually?

Most sampled pieces fall between about 1.4 and 2.6 metres long by 0.9 to 1.7 metres wide. That is a rug rather than a carpet, and the titles agree: 130 of 199 say rug. Larger pieces exist but are the exception. The biggest sampled are a Khamseh carpet at 308 by 232cm and a Qashqai main carpet at 308 by 188cm, with a Luri kelleh reaching 358cm in length.

What period do these date from?

The dated field runs from 1850 to 1940, with a single listing at each extreme. Nothing earlier than the mid 19th century appears. The 1900s and 1880s dominate, followed by the 1920s and 1890s. Fourteen listings are dated no more precisely than 19th Century, and the titles behind those try harder, offering third quarter, fourth quarter, mid 19th century or circa 1860s.

Why do listings name a sub-tribe?

Qashqai weaving is unusually specific about who made it. Kashkuli appears in 19 titles and Shekarlu in 12, with Darrehshuri, Bolvardi and Ard Kapan named in the samples. The naming carries weight in the market. Sub-tribe pieces cluster in the upper part of the range, and several of the highest-placed rugs are Shekarlu or Kashkuli.

Are kilims part of this category?

Yes. Kilim appears in 19 titles, roughly one listing in ten, covering flatwoven pileless weaving from the same region. The group takes in the sofreh, a flatwoven eating cloth, and a lion kilim turns up among the samples.

What are bag faces and khorjin?

A bag face is the decorated front panel of a woven bag, cut or kept apart from its plain-weave back. A khorjin is a pair of joined saddlebags, sometimes offered complete with the backs. Bags account for around one listing in ten, and the range within them is wide. Bag faces and the small chanteh pouch sit at the bottom of the sampled range, while complete khorjin sit far higher.

Do unusual designs turn up in this category?

They do, though singly. One rug depicts the pillars of Persepolis, the only architectural subject in the archive. Figural work otherwise runs to peacocks, chickens, birds and a lion. One-off forms include a baby cradle, a horse blanket cover, a moj, a spindle and water-pipe bag, and a millefleurs prayer rug.

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Antique Qashqai Rugs

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Pile rugs, kilims and small woven bags from the Qashqai tribes of Fars province in south-west Persia, made first for tent, floor and pack animal, later for sale.