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Lot Essay
The knot count is approximately 10V x 8H per cm. sq.
The movement of designs from seventeenth century Kirman to eighteenth century north west Persian carpets is well documented, and the reasons well-rehearsed. Many eighteenth century wool carpets display designs taken, sometimes loosely and sometimes very closely, from the Kirman originals. A very good comparison is given by a carpet in the Burns Collection with its prototype now in the Metropolitan Museum (James D. Burns, Antique Rugs of Kurdistan, London, 2002, no.34, pp.126-7; Joseph V. McMullen, Islamic Carpets, New York, 1965, no.17, pp.84-5).
The present rug is another very clear example of this.The main field displays a north west Persian variant of the floral spray and lattice design found in early Safavid Kirman 'Vase' carpets (The Bernheimer Family Collection of Carpets, sold in these Rooms 14 February 1996, lot 150). While the lattice design on the present rug clearly uses the same delicate scrolling vine terminating in split-palmettes, it has been simplified from a triple layer to a single plane, another feature typical of the changes that occurred as the designs moved. A silk rug bearing the same field design but on an ivory ground, devoid of the small indented spandrels and with a distinct border design found on 17th century 'Vase' carpets, sold in these Rooms, 13 October 2005, lot 75. A yellow ground silk Heriz rug, with a floral trellis variant with similar spandrels and the same turtle-palmette and scrolling vine border and floral guard stripes as our rug, was sold Sotheby’s New York April 10 & 11, 1981, lot 424. Another example from this group was published by Eberhart Herrmann, Von Konya bis Kokand, Seltene Orientteppiche, Munich, 1980, vol. III, cat. no.61, p.123; and another sold with Sotheby's London, 1 November 2016, lot 97, formerly with Herrmann, (op.cit., Munich, vol. IV, cat. no. 68, pp.198-199). There has been some discussion as to where this group of rugs was woven with suggestions of Heriz, Tabriz and Joshagan, but all share the same fine quality of execution, highly lustrous silk, richly saturated natural dyes and an affinity of design with earlier Safavid carpets.
The movement of designs from seventeenth century Kirman to eighteenth century north west Persian carpets is well documented, and the reasons well-rehearsed. Many eighteenth century wool carpets display designs taken, sometimes loosely and sometimes very closely, from the Kirman originals. A very good comparison is given by a carpet in the Burns Collection with its prototype now in the Metropolitan Museum (James D. Burns, Antique Rugs of Kurdistan, London, 2002, no.34, pp.126-7; Joseph V. McMullen, Islamic Carpets, New York, 1965, no.17, pp.84-5).
The present rug is another very clear example of this.The main field displays a north west Persian variant of the floral spray and lattice design found in early Safavid Kirman 'Vase' carpets (The Bernheimer Family Collection of Carpets, sold in these Rooms 14 February 1996, lot 150). While the lattice design on the present rug clearly uses the same delicate scrolling vine terminating in split-palmettes, it has been simplified from a triple layer to a single plane, another feature typical of the changes that occurred as the designs moved. A silk rug bearing the same field design but on an ivory ground, devoid of the small indented spandrels and with a distinct border design found on 17th century 'Vase' carpets, sold in these Rooms, 13 October 2005, lot 75. A yellow ground silk Heriz rug, with a floral trellis variant with similar spandrels and the same turtle-palmette and scrolling vine border and floral guard stripes as our rug, was sold Sotheby’s New York April 10 & 11, 1981, lot 424. Another example from this group was published by Eberhart Herrmann, Von Konya bis Kokand, Seltene Orientteppiche, Munich, 1980, vol. III, cat. no.61, p.123; and another sold with Sotheby's London, 1 November 2016, lot 97, formerly with Herrmann, (op.cit., Munich, vol. IV, cat. no. 68, pp.198-199). There has been some discussion as to where this group of rugs was woven with suggestions of Heriz, Tabriz and Joshagan, but all share the same fine quality of execution, highly lustrous silk, richly saturated natural dyes and an affinity of design with earlier Safavid carpets.