Fine Paisley (Boteh) Design Qum Carpet

The city of Qum is a recently established centre for the production of urban style rugs with workshops appearing there from around 1927 onwards. It rapidly became a significant and important centre for the creation of technically extremely fine silk rugs and carpets, though fine wool pile rugs are also made there. The repertoire of their designs is varied, ranging from designs based on Safavid Persian traditions of the 16th and 17th Centuries, through to individual creative designs of unparalleled technical excellence and artistic visual excellence, which can often be described as ground breaking. This fine Persian Qum carpet displays a style of design frequently replicated by Qum weavers, which is defined by repeated rows of ‘boteh’. The origins of the ‘boteh’ motif is uncertain, though is thought to represent a leaf form. This iconic motif is seen in carpets, rugs, and textiles from countless centres from the rug and textile producing world and seen in varying shapes and sizes, drawn geometrically or in a curvilinear orientation depending on weaving traditions. The boteh motif when repeated in a pattern is often described as the ‘Paisley’ design, so named as the boteh features as the primary motif seen in Paisley shawls made in Paisley, Scotland and replicated in France, which in turn are based on the traditional Kashmir shawls made in the border region of India and Pakistan. Qum weavers particularly favour this versatile motif. In this Persian Qum carpet, the boteh is intricately detailed, each apricot centre encloses an ascending flowering plant framed within an alternating red and green diagonal border. The exemplary skill of the weaver ensures that this motif as a single entity is magnificently presented as a detailed main ornament in the carpet. The botehs are then overlaid on intricately drawn red carnation vines. The overall appearance is an artistic triumph both technically and visually, consistent with the very best of Qum tradition. The formal border treatment compliments the central field composition utilising the same complimentary colours as seen in the main field activity.

This carpet can be described as a visual ‘delight’ and celebration of the very best of Qum artistry.

Fine Paisley Design Qum Carpet