Origin: Senneh

North West Iran

Woven: c. 1920

Size: 1.55 x 1.00 m 5' x 3'4"

Ref: 401RE007

Price Euros 1500

Originally made for the court and urban aristocracy in a workshop environment rather than in a village house or nomadic settlement, men were often the weavers of these very finely made Persian kilims from Senneh/Sehna/Senna (now known as Sanandaj in North Western Iran, the modern capital of Kurdistan). Senneh kilims were made with the fine floral patterns inspired by the embroideries and brocades of the Safavid period which ended with the policies of the repressive Pahlavi regime occurring in Persia during the mid nineteen twenties. Designs typically consist of small clusters of flowers, 'boteh' (bird-like motifs), running vines, bees and often, as in the piece here, a central concentration of small flowers known as a Herati pattern, enclosed in a diamond motif. It is thought that these designs were inspired by Moghul rugs from the Indian sub-continent, since they bear many similarities to Kashmiri textiles of the nineteenth century. This particular Senneh kilim, as well as the traditional red, blues and whites, has a very unusual wide border including some green, and does not have the more common running vine motif around its edges.

back to old kilims