Semi-antique Arab rug from Iran. 71x51 cms

This very unusual rug has the name Mr Shams Din woven in it. Shams-i Tabrīzī (Persian: شمس تبریزی) or Shams al-Din Mohammad (1185–1248) was a Persian Shafi’ite poet who is credited as the spiritual instructor of Mewlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi. Tradition holds that Shams taught Rumi in seclusion in Konya for a period of forty days, before fleeing for Damascus. The tomb of Shams-i Tabrīzī was recently nominated to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

On 15 November 1244, a man in a black suit from head to toe came to the famous inn of Sugar Merchants of Konya. His name was Shams Tabrizi. He was claiming to be a travelling merchant. As it was said in Haji Bektash Veli’s book, “Makalat”, he was looking for something which he was going to find in Konya. Eventually he found Rumi riding a horse.

One day Rumi was reading next to a large stack of books. Shams Tabriz, passing by, asked him, “What are you doing?” Rumi scoffingly replied, “Something you cannot understand.” (This is knowledge that cannot be understood by the unlearned.) On hearing this, Shams threw the stack of books into a nearby pool of water. Rumi hastily rescued the books and to his surprise they were all dry. Rumi then asked Shams, “What is this?” To which Shams replied, “Mowlana, this is what you cannot understand.” (This is knowledge that cannot be understood by the learned.)

Material: 100% hand-spun sheep wool   

Size: 71×51 cms

Origin: Arab tribe from Iran

Date of weaving: 1950’s

The term Pushti or Poshti meaning pillow or cushion has its roots in early Persian culture. Pushti or Poshti is a term that refers to small hand-knotted carpets traditionally used as back rests. The covers used to be filled with wool or straw and put on camel saddles for back support. A secondary use was as a cushion. Over time the use as a cushion superseded the original use. These are the small ‘rugs’ that would be taken out and unrolled for a cherished guest to sit on, bringing more luxury and circumstance to the occasion. It is a term used both for urban as well as cottage industry and nomadic examples. The tradition goes back at least to the Safavid period where in certain Persian miniatures the Shah can be seen portrayed sitting on a small square mat, usually on top of another carpet or on a raised dais. A large part of the attraction to the Poshti rugs and part of the reason this may be an unknown genre, is that these rugs were of incredible beauty and craftmanship and therefore, families were reluctant to sell them.

They are similar to the Balisht of the Baluch, the yastiks of Turkey or the Napramach of the Uzbeks.