Vast Pakistani Shalimar Angora Wool Rug. Striking indigo, black, pink, and terracotta colors combine to form a stunning vision, with multi-ethnic iconography and repeating patterns throughout the field and a vase-with-flowers pattern throughout the border. 

Size: 61 x 92 in. 

#6803 . 

Shalimar is an administrative region (more specifically, a tehsil) in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Lahore, located along the historic Grand Trunk Road. Settlement of this area dates back to the 15th Century during the Mughal Empire, and is named after the Shalimar Gardens, built by Emperor Shah Jahan in 1640. One of their most important exports are rugs, which have been made in the area almost since the moment it was first settled. Their rug weaving traditions originated in Agra, home of the Taj Mahal, when ruler Akbar The Great brought with him a wealth of art and plans to improve the commerce of the region. He brought Persian weavers with him in 1580 A.D., and thus was born a new and vibrant industry combining Indian decadence and Arabian techniques. However, during the tumultuous late 19th and early 20th Century, the tradition of rug making died out there for a time, and the industry finally experienced a revival after the country gained its independence in 1947. Since then Shalimar rugs have become particularly sought after as a new breed of Pakistani rugs, made in contemporary designs and using a blend of Persian and Mughal influences, and often only made with Angora wool. These extremely fine quality rugs have very high knot counts and very intricate curvilinear patterns, often in more bright and pastel colors than many rugs of that part of the world. Typically the designs on a Shalimar traditional rug are Persian and Mughal influenced and quite varied, featuring vines and floral patterns, animal and bird figures, and geometric and calligraphic patterns. All-over layouts with bold floral borders are particularly striking, and these highly-prized Pakistani rugs are one of the most recent evolutions in the remarkable and long-lived tradition of rug making that stretches back into antiquity in Eurasia.