Karabagh Pile Rug with Floral Motifs

Somebody grew an entire rose garden, then laid it on the floor and dated it.

This Karabagh pile rug with floral motifs comes from Armenia and is dated 1901. It is wool. Karabagh, in the southern Caucasus, is known for rugs with big rose designs often said to show the influence of European textiles. Reds, pinks and orange blooms crowd a brown-black field with pale leaves between them. Curling feathery leaves run around the border. Two letters appear in the field near the top. It measures 4.9 feet wide and 9.2 feet long.

Winter has trouble making its case in a room with this in it.