Lot Essay
In contrast to the field of the preceding lot, this 'Polonaise' rug has a strongly centrifugal design with the main elements radiating from the medallion. The drawing is an excellent example of Spuhler's system V (Spuhler, F.: 'Entwurfspraktiken safawidischer Hofmanufacturen am Beispiel der sog. Polenteppiche', HALI, vol.1, no.3, pp.244-6, this being a summary of his earlier doctoral thesis). The border continues the field motifs with its split palmette interlace in a design that appears on a number of the large Polonaise carpets such as the pair of carpets, one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Dimand, M.S. and Mailey, J.: Oriental Rugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1973, no.18, p.103 and fig.85), the other sold by Colnaghi to the Empress of Iran in 1976 (Ferrier, R. (ed.): The Arts of Persia, New Haven and London, 1989, pl.25, p.132 and cover illustration).