Antique Kurdish rugs are widely appreciated for their superior sense of color, and even among kilims, this distinction holds true. Woven by Kurds in the Bidjar area of Northwest Persia, this arresting kilim has a design apparently consisting only of two colors – a rich, fiery terracotta and golden ochre – arranged in broad, alternating horizontal bands. But a closer look reveals the complexity that makes up both colors, in reality many more shades subtly blended according to traditional weaving technique. This variegation produces an illusion of depth and space that plays off beautifully against the actual nubby texture of the weaving itself, whose quality can only be experienced in person.
