This fine handmade Kashmir silk rug is an antique animal Kashan design masterpiece, worked out by the expert and confident hands of a Kashmiri artisan.

The center of the carpet has a motif formed by two small lotus palmettes along the vertical axis and two leaf palmettes along the horizontal axis flanked by four spotted leopards face up possibly to catch the scent of its prey . This is further flanked by two large palmettes along the vertical axis with a lion face motif in the center of each palmette and a set of two smaller palmettes along the horizontal axis with a different lion face motif in the center of the larger palmette of the set. On top of the palmettes along both axes is a pair of exotic birds facing each other. Along the horizontal axis the two large palmettes are flanked on each side by a large animal hunting scene of a leopard hunting a legendary beast. There is another animal which is half dragon and half lion facing the hunting scene on either side as if ready to join. This is surrounded by a lush garden landscape inhabited by exotic birds and animals against an elaborate network of scrolling vines with palmettes, blossoms, buds and leaves all on the magnificent red ground.

The field of this carpet has four-fold symmetry, each quarter having more than twenty unique palmettes. Each of the four corners of the field is dominated by a multilayered large leaf palmette surrounded by blossoms and cloud bands. The inner guard consists of flowers and birds alternating in both directions. The outer stripe has a similar design as the inner guard. The broad central stripe of the main border is decorated with great refinement. Large framed animal jungle scenes alternate on both sides, the scenes at the corners of the border being more elaborate. One of the animal scenes is that of a tiger attacking an antelope while the other alternating scene is that of a deer on the run. The animal scenes also depict birds perched on flowering branches.

This is an extremely fine hand made rug because of its naturalistic design, silk used and because of its faultless execution.