Persian Sofreh or Eating Cloth

Zigzags run edge to edge in red, olive, navy and cream, like a cardiogram in a very good mood.

This sofreh or eating cloth comes from Persia (present day Iran), Middle East, and dates to the 20th C. It is wool. In Persian homes, a sofreh is spread on the floor for meals, and woven examples were often made by nomadic and village weavers for their own households. The square field is filled with horizontal rows of fine zigzags in red, dark green, brown, slate blue, navy and ivory, shifting in tone across the cloth. A narrow border in brown and white twined edging surrounds the field. It is 4.4 feet wide and 4.6 long.

Dinner was never meant to sit still.