.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The knot count is approximately 9H x 10V per cm. sq.
The Koum Kapi weavings get their name from the Koum Kapi (Sand Gate) district of Istanbul, the Armenian quarter, situated near to the Topkapi area of the city. It was in these rather impoverished streets that the Armenian workshops created arguably the most luxurious and beautiful silk carpets of the 20th century, inspired by the renewed interest in and publication of great classical weavings (Pamela Bensoussan, 'The Master Weavers of Istanbul', Hali 26, p.34). Another source of inspiration were the more recently imported silk Persian rugs woven at the turn of the century, as seen in the present rug, which is closely related to the designs found in silk Kashan prayer rugs, particularly in the cartouche panels in the border that contain rural vignettes filled with animals and birds. A rug woven from the same cartoon as the present lot is in the Arkas Collection, Istanbul, (M. Önder Çokay and Altuğ Önder, KumKapi Rugs From The Arkas Collection, Türk ve Islam Eserleri Müzesi, Exhibition catalogue, Istanbul, 2017, pl.30, pp.90-91).
The Koum Kapi weavings get their name from the Koum Kapi (Sand Gate) district of Istanbul, the Armenian quarter, situated near to the Topkapi area of the city. It was in these rather impoverished streets that the Armenian workshops created arguably the most luxurious and beautiful silk carpets of the 20th century, inspired by the renewed interest in and publication of great classical weavings (Pamela Bensoussan, 'The Master Weavers of Istanbul', Hali 26, p.34). Another source of inspiration were the more recently imported silk Persian rugs woven at the turn of the century, as seen in the present rug, which is closely related to the designs found in silk Kashan prayer rugs, particularly in the cartouche panels in the border that contain rural vignettes filled with animals and birds. A rug woven from the same cartoon as the present lot is in the Arkas Collection, Istanbul, (M. Önder Çokay and Altuğ Önder, KumKapi Rugs From The Arkas Collection, Türk ve Islam Eserleri Müzesi, Exhibition catalogue, Istanbul, 2017, pl.30, pp.90-91).