Pile khorjin, Qashqa’i Confederacy, Safi Khani tribe, Southern Persia, Circa 1880, 61 x 56 cm (24 x 22 in.) Knot count: 12 h x 14 v = 168 kpsi. Colours: rust red, coral red, dark blue, light yellow, maroonish brown, ivory (6). Condition: excellent considering it is half of a rather large double saddle bag. Full silky pile, original sides and ends. Notes: this is the only piece i ever handled for this group, first defined by Parnham and Azadi in their ‘Tribal and Village Rugs from Fars’ (1992). i have seen Safi Khani weavings of this group appearing in the Kossow Collection Rippon Boswell sale and on rugrabbit.com. i always had a soft spot for octagonal centralized designs - in my eye they feel extremely Turkic and archaic.