The exhibition, "Mother and Child: the Pregnant Boteh," at Roger and Pamella Cavanna's Carpets of the Inner Circle (September 22 through October 20, 1995) is the kind of highly specialized show becoming increasingly popular with rug collectors who have by now seen all the standard types and often wish to narrow their focus onto the unusual. And there is nothing like seeing, in close proximity, multiple examples of the same design to help one single out just which qualities contribute to full realization of a particular vision.    Why has the "pregnant Boteh" -- a descriptive label that may not be anatomically precise -- proved so durable and widespread in its appeal? As we see in this exhibit, it ranges from a most sophisticated form in an elegant, silk, rainbow-warped Isfahan to the most primitive village or nomadic rugs. It includes what we could legitimately label as workshop rugs, surely the product of a professional designer, to bold and simple pieces that must be labeled as "folk art." Most of the larger examples, which appear to be from towns or major villages, are not the spontaneous outpouring of a single weaver, but represent an approach to design that requires careful planning.    Almost certainly this entire genre evolved during the last half of the 19th century, after the machine-made shawls of Paisley and Norwich had driven the Kashmir and Kerman shawls from the market and had prompted many of their creators to turn to carpets. Quite naturally these same artisans would apply their traditional designs to the new medium, and the boteh seems to have burst upon the Persian carpet industry as one of those overwhelming currents of fashion. While there is no reason to believe that it was even used in Persian carpets before 1800, by the end of the century it was surely the most popular motif to be found in the country. Shawl designers had noted long before that boteh figures of various sizes had a way of fitting gracefully together. Why not expand the possibilities by putting botehs within botehs?

   One of the most appealing features of these rugs involves a certain kinetic quality, a sense of movement that seems related to the fact that on certain of these rugs there are botehs oriented in a different directions and interacting in a manner as to give the illusion of movement. This appears particularly prominent on AP 3195, which appears to be a more curvilinear version of essentially the same design seem on RG 9951. Because of the simple diagonal orientation in rows of the same color on ND 1110, this characteristic is lacking.

   Having all these rugs within a single room had an accumulative visual effect. There was a sense of abandoned motion at the same time a recognition that the designers were showing their control. For those who doubt the creative power of the 19th century, and some 2Oth century, Persian workshop rugs, this show was a good antidote.