The Open Field Beshir Prayer Rug

Hi People,

One of the most interesting pieces in the exhibition was a small Beshir prayer rug with an undecorated field (number 50).



I hadn't seen anything quite like it before ACOR. The intrusion of the little element at the top of the field into the border is a very unusual feature, too.

Regards,

Steve Price

Rare Rug

Steve,

This is a very striking rug. I have recently seen an open-field SW Persian prayer rug with the same colors, but do not recall having seen any others.
One rule of rugs is that the minute someone says they have a unique rug, identical versions seem to come out of the closets.
The most common open field weavings we see are sofreh. Perhaps the similarities between the prayer version and the dining version reduce the chance of many of these having been woven. The conservative nature of the weaving peoples tends to limit the variability of designs to some extent, especially within a "type" of weaving.

Patrick Weiler