MIDDLE AMU DARYA REGION, CIRCA 1800

The small format and unusual banded design of the Bernheimer Beshir prayer rug relates to a prayer rug illustrated in Ralph Kaffel’s seminal article 'Beshir Prayer Rugs', Hali 151, fig.5, p.77. Both are similarly sized and share a design of dynamic chevrons above a broad ivory arch with an inner mihrab of serpentine bands and what appear to be very similar borders. However, whilst the Kaffel rug has typical Beshir motifs such as its large round head and pomegranate arch, the present rug departs from traditional forms in a number of ways. Our prayer rug has a considerable amount of light blue in the design, an unusual small lobed head, and the use two different stellar rosettes in the ivory arch and the chevron and serpentine bands, all of which appear to be unique in the canon of published Beshir prayer rugs.