Few rugs boast such intricate detail as this Gonbad, truly a masterpiece.  Woven of silk and quoark(the softest wool of lambs), this rug is extremely fine, soft, and luxuriant.  This is atypical for many reasons, including its unusual proportions and its absence of a field.  Instead, an oversized medallion extends to the border.  The medallion is inspired by the ceiling of the architectural landmark Madrese-ye Chahar-e bagh (literally meaning the Four-garden school) in Isfahan.  The weaver has reinterpreted the ceiling with his own palette of brilliant color.  The medallion is radically symmetrical and centered with an octahedron.  From the central octahedron radiate twelve curve petal-motifs that in turn are surrounded by twenty-four petals.  Persian architecture is typically governed by the number four and multiples thereof.  The medallion also includes seven concentric circular petals (seven being a traditionally sacred number) crowned with thirty-two floral patterns.

In the border are thirty-two mithrabs (directional prayer niches) alternatively hued light and dark, symbolizing the contrasting forces such as day and night or good and evil, that have had a deep symbolic meaning in Persian culture since ancient times. 

• authentic

• original

• one-of-a-kind