A teardrop-shaped motif with a curved upper tip, ubiquitous in Persian and Kashmiri weaving for centuries. When Scottish mills began imitating Kashmir shawls in the 19th century, the boteh became known in the West as "paisley", after the town of Paisley where the shawls were woven. Interpretations of its origin range from a cypress tree bent by the wind to a flame, a seed, or a stylized almond — in carpets it often appears in orderly rows across the field.
Finely woven Kurdish rugs from the town of Senneh (modern Sanandaj) in western Iran, famous for delicate Herati and boteh designs and a thin, tight body. They carry one of the great ironies of the rug world: although the asymmetrical Persian knot is called the "Senneh knot", the weavers of Senneh actually work with the symmetrical Turkish knot — a reminder to judge rugs by structure, not by label.