A FINE MULTICOLOURED GLASS BEADWORK PRAYER RUG
Iran or Iraq, first half 20th century

The multicoloured miniature glass beads woven around a cream cotton thread, with a central sun burst with abstract decorative motifs and stylised arrows, surrounded by an ochre yellow diamond-shaped grid filled with abstract vegetal and geometric patterns, the top panel with a mihrab-like mount flanked by two minarets and vegetation, the selvedges edged with two-tone swaddling band, in cream, green and purple silks, symmetrically tablet-woven with stylised buildings, cypresses, geometric motifs, concentric circles, and auspicious pseudo-Kufic calligraphic inscriptions to the bottom, lined and backed in purple velvet, 160cm x 89cm including the purple fringes.