Story

A unique tribal Sarab carpet woven with plush camel hair, combining geometric abstraction with rich Persian symbolism. The upper border carries an important inscription:

محرّم الحرام سنة ١٣١٧

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘖𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘐𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 1317

Nomadic Sarab rugs are almost never signed nor dated. Why would one be inscribed in this manner? The key rests in the month of Moharram, which is when the 10 days of the battle of Karbala took place in the year 61 of the Hijra (683 AD). Ashoura, the religious commemoration of the killing of the Prophet's grandson, Imam Hossein, remains arguably the single most important event in the Shia calendar. During these 10 days, and until today, people would gather in mosques or 𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘺𝘢s to recite the tragic stories of that battle. As such, the month of Moharram carries significant socio-cultural connotations and its mentioning on a carpet indicates that it was commissioned for either a mosque or more likely a 𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘺𝘢 on this holy occasion.

As such we have here not only a very beautiful antique artifact, but also a very gripping artwork of massive ethnographic and religious value.