Antique Persian Malayer Gallery Carpet

A wool pile of symmetric knots on a cotton foundation. The dark chocolate-brown to charcoal-brown field displays an offset, five-column allover Herati pattern in taupe, camel, beige, soft brown, and touches of pale blue to turquoise, with pairs of tiny birds enlivening the intervening spaces. The presence of such birds within a Herati design is characteristic of Malayer weaving. The strip-style ecru-to-warm-ivory main border features a variant of the “dragon-vine” pattern in taupe, soft brown, pale blue, and faint rust.