Qashqai Rugs

While the majority of the Qashqai tribe have settled into towns and villages, many still live the nomadic lifestyle of their ancestors. In the summer they tend their flocks of sheep and goats in the rugged highlands north of Shiraz, before making the annual three-hundred mile trek to the winter pastures near the Persian Gulf. Their pure wool rugs are a product of this way of life. Designs are knotted from memory and adapted spontaneously to create spirited and unique compositions, bustling with abstract representations of the animals and plants that sustain the tribe. The deep reds and blues are offset by creamy highlights and animated by vignettes of green and orange.