Khamseh Carpet
Khamseh
c. 1890
Medium
Wool, plain weave with supplementary wrapping wefts forming cut pile through a technique known as "Turkish (Ghiordes) knots"
Dimensions
430.1 × 211.8 cm (169 7/8 × 83 3/8 in.)
Classification
textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
226149
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This rug comes from the Khamseh confederation, a grouping of five separate tribes from the Fars region in southern Iran. A classic example, it features large columns of hexagonal compartments full of stylized chickens and other animals. The chickens may hark back to some ancient tribal tradition, but the large size reflects such 19th-century cultural changes as settled communities and commercial production.