Vintage Persian Pictorial Shiraz Rug

A wool pile with symmetric knots on a wool foundation. Three columns of sheepdogs alternate with antlered deer, decorating the borderless red field. The sheepdogs, with their hangdog expressions, are mostly in ecru, while the deer feature old gold or rust-colored bodies. All animals face right. Sheepdogs occasionally appear in nomadic Qashghai rugs, as seen here, but they are generally less common than one might expect, given their economic importance.