Fantastic Millefleurs rug from the Qashqai Kashkuli tribe of Iran. This rug is woven from soft, shiny wool with a high density of knots. The range of colors is vibrant and simply spectacular. The term millefleurs, originally coined for describing the background of Gothic tapestries, is used for Indian and Persian prayer rugs which have an abundance of blossoms in the field and border. Especially the fine, 19th century rugs of the type from southern Persia have been in high demand for decades. Their field design is taken from 17th/18th century Mughal rugs, which show a shrub emerging from a mound in earlier examples, replaced by vases in later pieces. To the sides are cypress trees, growing out of column shaped bases. The Indian rugs have a pashmina pile while the Persian carpets are woven in fine wool or silk. James Opie deems it possible that Qashqai troops, which went with Nadir Shah to conquer Afghanistan and India in the 18th century, brought not only the Peacock Throne to Persia but also carpets with the millefleurs design, later copied by Kashkuli weavers (James Opie, Tribal Rugs of Southern Persia, p.14).