late 19th century, 121 x 97 cm, South Persia, Kerman

In the second half of the 19th century, several Afshar tribes gave up their nomadic lifestyle and began to settle in villages in the wider Kerman area. This very pretty example was woven in a village workshop. A luxuriantly flowering shrub grows from a vase that stands alone in the field; its deep blue ground colour is a symbol of the night. The singing nightingale perched on one of the upper branches fits in with this theme. – New overcasting along the sides, otherwise very well preserved.