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Lot Essay
The inscriptions are as follows: The three inscription borders are all Koranic: the outer one is, 285-6; the main border is the ayat al-kursi, sura ii, vv. 255, complete; and the inner one sura ii, v., sura vii, vv., 204-6. That of the mihrab arch appears to be Koran sura lix, vv., 23-4, the remaining space being filled by various of the '99 Names of God'. These also fill the scale-like panels of the spandrels, mostly in pairs (hence, some of them are reminiscent of the Koranic verses in which the two names jointly appear). They are executed in a well-drawn rounded script, but most of them upside down vis-a-vis the viewer. The main inscription border is punctuated by four panels of square Kufic, which are in pairs, those on the right hand side being reversed. The upper pair bear the latter part of Koran sura xxi, v., 87; the lower pair have Koran sura xi, v., 88, the latter part also but seemingly omitting the final word.
The present rug is an exact copy of the rug located in the Topkapi Saray Museum (Tezcan, H., The Topkapi Saray Museum Carpets, Thames and Hudson, London pl. 18) and the Fletcher prayer rug housed in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, (Dimand, M.S. and Mailey, Jean: Oriental Rugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1973, pl.18). Both rugs are generally attributed to Persia and dated to the 16th century. The present rug is is made of silk and has a higher knot count but is otherwise exactly the same size as the Fletcher rug making it more likely that it was copied from that exact design.
It is likely that many of the rugs in the Topkapi Saray Museum were studied by the designers and can be viewed as prototypes for their own designs. Please see lot 18 and 19 in our present sale for examples of rugs attributed to the master weaver Zareh Penyamine.
The present rug is an exact copy of the rug located in the Topkapi Saray Museum (Tezcan, H., The Topkapi Saray Museum Carpets, Thames and Hudson, London pl. 18) and the Fletcher prayer rug housed in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, (Dimand, M.S. and Mailey, Jean: Oriental Rugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1973, pl.18). Both rugs are generally attributed to Persia and dated to the 16th century. The present rug is is made of silk and has a higher knot count but is otherwise exactly the same size as the Fletcher rug making it more likely that it was copied from that exact design.
It is likely that many of the rugs in the Topkapi Saray Museum were studied by the designers and can be viewed as prototypes for their own designs. Please see lot 18 and 19 in our present sale for examples of rugs attributed to the master weaver Zareh Penyamine.