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Posted on: April 2, 2019

Antique Spotlight – Senneh

This impressive Senneh dates back over 100 years, but like any well-made Persian carpet, it looks even more beautiful with time and use.

A Persian Senneh carpet with a red flower pattern on a blue field, surrounded by blue and red flowers decorating a white border.

This beautiful Persian Senneh was woven at the turn of the century by the order of the Governor of Sanandaj, today’s capital of Iran’s Kurdistan province. Despite its age, this Persian rug is still in excellent antique condition thanks to the skill and artistic craft of its weavers. It is an extraordinary Senneh not only because of its remarkable design and coloration, but also its size. The size is unusual given the piece’s provenance – most rugs in Sanandaj weren’t much larger than approximately 5′ x 7′ at the time it was created, indicating the power and wealth of the person who commissioned this work that measures 12’3″ x 16’3″.

A Persian Senneh carpet with a red flower pattern on a blue field, surrounded by blue and red flowers decorating a white border.

The intention behind the Governor’s commission of this design was to showcase the beauty of his home’s natural surroundings. More specifically, the Senneh depicts the flowers that would bloom in the river’s shallow waters every spring. The flowers exhibit beautiful red tones against a rich blue background, balanced by the carpet’s detailed border of similar coloration. Taking a closer look, the detail and use of color of the floral pattern is truly stunning.

This is a detail image of the Senneh carpet depicting the flowers in bloom that create the rug's pattern.

This Persian Senneh carpet consists of a pure wool pile with a cotton warp and weft. Like all of Orley Shabahang’s contemporary carpets, it was also colored with natural vegetable dyes. Its blue hues come from indigo, while its red is derived from cochineal. Further more, its hand-spun wool was hand-knotted by artisan weavers. This Senneh carpet has lasted generations as a consequence of the skilled hands that it came in contact with at every step of its creation.

The detail shot depicts both the blooming red and white flowers in the pattern as well as the blue and red floral motif that composes the three-tiered border.

Find this breathtaking antique among Orley Shabahang’s world-renowned collection in one of our showrooms, on our website, or on our 1stdibs storefront.