NORTH WEST PERSIA, CIRCA 1880

The 'Ardabil' carpet, from which the present lot takes its design, is the world's oldest dated carpet AH 946/1539-40 AD and one of the largest, most beautiful and historically important in the world. Taken from the shrine of Shaykh Safi al-Din in Ardabil following an earthquake, the carpet was purchased by Ziegler & Co. and later passed into the hands of the Vincent Robinson company who successfully sold it in 1893 to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, for an enormous sum. In celebration of the sale Edward Stebbing, the Managing Director of the company, published a richly illustrated volume lauding the carpet, the result of which was a wealth of carpets woven with this design in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries not only in Iran but further afield. While the design of the present carpet remains relatively true to the original, the colour palette was re-interpreted to remain in keeping with western tastes.

This particular carpet was formerly laid down on the floor of the dining room in the Old Bank of England. Built between the late 18th and early 19th century, the building was seen as Sir John Soane's masterpiece. Soane himself was very interested in the decorative potential of carpets, and as well as purchasing oriental carpets, there is archival evidence of him commissioning a carpet to his own design for the London house of the Earl of Coventry (Sir John Soane's Museum, London, SM Adam volume 49/53). In his designs for Pitzhanger Manor, his country retreat just outside of London (seen here in situ), Sir John Soane's sketches often included carpets laid on the floor to complement the ornate vaulted ceilings. Early 20th century photographs of the Bank of England show many carpets in its interior, which include another example of monumental size in the Court Room, where the Court of Directors held their meetings (Bank of England Archive, 15A13/1/1/67/6). It is possible that both that and the present carpet were specifically commissioned for those rooms.