Fine Rare Antique Rasht ( Mazandaran)

The province of Mazandaran is a narrow strip along the central coast of the
Caspian Sea and filtering south in the Elborz Mountains directly above Tehran.
The principal city in this region is Rasht, which for centuries has been
associated with one particular type of textile, the eponymous rashti-duzi. This
is a form of extremely fine silk embroidery on a (usually red) felted wool
(baize) ground. Similar embroideries were made elsewhere in Persia –
Kashan and Esfahan for instance – but the presence of the felt wool ground is
a fairly consistent indication of a Rasht origin. Such embroideries are still
made today and it is probably true that Iranian rather than Western collectors
drive the main collecting impetus for old examples; the latter perhaps find the
style of such pieces too ornate and florid. However, examples from the 19th
century, often with inscriptions mentioning documented Iranian rulers and
governors, appear on the market with surprising regularity and there are even
occasionally pieces from the late 18th century – elaborate tent panels for
example. It is certainly an area of collecting that an enterprising newcomer
might find both intellectually stimulating and financially rewarding.
Rasht embroideries, of course, represent a sophisticated urban art form. How –
ever, Mazandaran is also becoming increasingly well known for a wide variety
of village flatwoven covers from such small mountain villages as Firuzkuh,
Savadkuh, Sari, Sangdeh and the interestingly named Kelim. The majority of
such flatweaves are in striped weft-faced plainweave, some extremely finely
woven and often with delicate additional decoration in a variety of techniques.
It has to be said that indigenous Mazandaran village flat weaves represent a
fairly new area both of research and collecting, although it seems to be one of
the few. In addition there are also Kurdish and Turkmen groups living in the area,
both of which produce their own distinctive flatweaves.

This piece was hand embroidered in Rasht, Mazandaran. For further information please contact us and our team will be pleased to assist you. All pieces in the collection are under the auspices of Essie Sakhai, one of the world’s foremost experts and collectors of fine handmade Persian rugs and carpets.