An exceptionally large Bessarabian kilim

The Ukraine, circa 1880s.

Provenance:

The Earl and Countess Drogheda, Parkside House, Windsor.

15ft 6in  x  14ft 6in    :    472cm  x  443cm

Some of the most attractive kilims inspired by European needlework designs were made in the southwestern Ukrainian province of Bessarabia. Most of the produce were made in humble houholds for domestic use.

The present example, of rare large size, would indicate a commissioned piece, probably one from the Russian aristocracy and the new wealthy bourgeoise class  who were furnishing their homes in the French style, fashionable at the end of the nineteenth century.