Enchanting Pictorial Western Persian Rug: Night Garden with Birds and Animals

A tree with red birds perched in its branches. The small and large animals scattered across the field suggest an abstract picture of the weaver’s own landscape. The tree, flowers, and animals are all present, yet none appear in their usual natural colors.

Notice the black ground. Perhaps the design imagines the surroundings at night, when colors are perceived differently in the dark.

• Origin: Ilam, W Persia
  
• Materials: Hand knotted wool pile on cotton foundation
  
• Age: Second half of the 20th century
  
• Size: 2' 6” x 3' 7" (75 x 110 cm)
  
• Vegetable-dyed