A Khamseh or Qashqai Rug, Southwest Persia, late 19th C. A classic Southwest Persian rug by the Khamseh or Qashqai tribes. The deeply abrashed blue field is overlaid with two vertical poles, each containing five interconnected pools or diamonds. The medallions are filled with zoomorphic imagery and the field is dotted with various icons of birds and plant forms. Three borders encase the composition, including a wide white ground border containing the “four inward pointing arrow” formations and floral symbols.