An exceptional Turkoman, Beshir, knotted carpet, produced in the Bokhara region, Central Asia, third quarter of the nineteenth century, wool warp and weft, wool pile, the characteristic design in a colour palette dominated by a glowing madder-red, with a dark blue ground and smaller areas of ivory, dark brown and a light golden yellow, the field filled with a stylised version of the Iranian 'Herati' design, superimposed with five almost-circular medallions; one in each corner and one placed in the centre of the field, 582 x 246 cm