Description
Elegant Baluchi Saph prayer rug with multiple niches or mihrabs. In a saph prayer carpet it is possible for several members of a family to pray side by side.
The style of the carpet is based on Turkish Ottoman prayer rugs, often woven in Kayseri.
Prayer Saph rug, mid-20th century, finely woven by Baluchi weavers in Pakistan.
This prayer rug features five Mihrabs that represent prayer niches found in Mosques. Each Mihrab has a chandelier hanging from the arch and columns on either side.
Natural wool woven onto cotton warp and weft. Very fine weave.
Excellent overall condition with some minor spots of wear in the field and on the side cords.
Exact size is 6 ft. 2 in. by 2 ft. 1 in. 1960s.
Last photo with silver dollar shows the backside of the carpet.
Baluchi tribal weavers — also Balouch — reside in an arid desert region that adjoins Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. About half of Baluch people live in Baluchistan, a western province of Pakistan, and about 40% of the Baluch are settled in the Sindh Province.
They make up nearly 3.6% of the Pakistani population, about 2% of Iran’s population (1.5 million) and about 2% of Afghanistan’s population.
Most of their rugs are small to medium in size, hardly surprising for nomads often living out of tents, and feature dark colors. They mainly speak the Baluchi language, a branch of the Northwestern Iranian languages.
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(Py0001 i10)