Although they were tribal weavers, the Bakhtiari of southwest Persia rose surprisingly well to the occasion of producing more formal room-size rugs for the local Persian and western markets. At once robust and yet delicate, their carpets have a distinctive quality that shows through the formal urban models that inspired them.

On this lovely carpet we see the Zili-Sultan, a fine lacy lattice of stylized trees with approximately oval contours.  It is rendered with a soft reddish cast in staggered rows across a brilliant ivory field. The running vinescroll border is also set against an ivory ground like the field, but its scale is much larger and more open, so it maintains the requisite contrast, reinforced by darker framing minor borders.