Lot Essay
Warp: wool, tan or tan-brown mix, natural, Z2S
Weft: wool, ivory-tan, natural, Z2S, 2 shoots alternating, straight but not tight
Pile: wool, Z2, symmetrical, no warp depression, H8xV9
Sides: 2 bundles of 2 body warps wrapped in dark brown Z2 pile wool; areas of shallow selvage wefting into rug body
Ends: both: up to 1/2inch dark red brown Z2 wool weft-faced plainweave
Colors: sapphire, light blue, salmon, old ivory, old gold, medium green, rust, medium and dark brown, straw, blue-green, sage green, brown-black
Another Kuba with the same design was offered at Rippon Boswell, May 11, 1996, lot 132. The Rippon example has the same field design as the lot offered here but it is repeated twice. The same stylized thick hooked vinery border motif is employed in both examples and in our rug, it creates a strong and dominant frame around the somewhat enlarged field repeat. Our example has a harmonious and mellow color combination in the trellis which coexists well with and floats upon the striated sky blue field. This design of palmettes flanked by serrated leaves is derived from early 18th century Kuba carpets but has been rendered in a less archaic way (see Hermann, Eberhart, Seltene Orientteppiche III, no. 50 for an 18th century example).
Weft: wool, ivory-tan, natural, Z2S, 2 shoots alternating, straight but not tight
Pile: wool, Z2, symmetrical, no warp depression, H8xV9
Sides: 2 bundles of 2 body warps wrapped in dark brown Z2 pile wool; areas of shallow selvage wefting into rug body
Ends: both: up to 1/2inch dark red brown Z2 wool weft-faced plainweave
Colors: sapphire, light blue, salmon, old ivory, old gold, medium green, rust, medium and dark brown, straw, blue-green, sage green, brown-black
Another Kuba with the same design was offered at Rippon Boswell, May 11, 1996, lot 132. The Rippon example has the same field design as the lot offered here but it is repeated twice. The same stylized thick hooked vinery border motif is employed in both examples and in our rug, it creates a strong and dominant frame around the somewhat enlarged field repeat. Our example has a harmonious and mellow color combination in the trellis which coexists well with and floats upon the striated sky blue field. This design of palmettes flanked by serrated leaves is derived from early 18th century Kuba carpets but has been rendered in a less archaic way (see Hermann, Eberhart, Seltene Orientteppiche III, no. 50 for an 18th century example).