IRAN, 17TH CENTURY

Details

A SAFAVID SILK AND METAL-THREAD BROCADE PANEL
IRAN, 17TH CENTURY
The gold ground woven with offset rows of orange rose bushes inhabited by a butterfly, composite fragment, mounted and behind clear acrylic
21 5/8 x 16 ½in. (54.9 x 41.9cm.)

Provenance

Acquired from Ferro Ettehadieh, New York, 1983

Literature

Carol Bier (ed.), Woven from the Soul, Spun from the Heart, exhibition catalogue, Washington D.C., 1987, no.19, p. 174.

Exhibited

Woven from the Soul, Spun from the Heart, The Textile Museum, Washington D.C., 7 November 1986 - 29 January 1987, no. 19.

Further details

Some countries prohibit or restrict the purchase and/or import of Iranian-origin property. Bidders must familiarise themselves with any laws or shipping restrictions that apply to them before bidding on these lots. For example, the USA prohibits dealings in and import of Iranian-origin “works of conventional craftsmanship” (such as carpets, textiles, decorative objects, and scientific instruments) without an appropriate licence. Christie’s has a general OFAC licence which, subject to compliance with certain conditions, would enable a buyer to import this type of lot into the USA. If you intend to use Christie’s licence, please contact us for further information before you bid.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

This textile originally formed part of a larger lavish robe of the same design. The drawing of the rose bush relates closely to a drawing by the Safavid artist Shafi 'Abbasi in the Yale University Art Gallery (inv. no. 1937.4769, see Carol Bier (ed.), Woven from the Soul, Spun from the Heart, exhibition catalogue, Washington D.C. 1987, p. 174).

Another fragment of the brocade is sewn to a border of a chausuble in the Museuo d'Arte Sacra from the Convento di San Francesco in Greve in Chianti, Italy. The very high quality of the drawing and weaving in our fragment as well at that in Italy is comparable to Safavid brocades dedicated to the shrine in Najaf (Mehmet Aga-Oglu, Safawid Rugs and Textiles. The Collection of the Shrine of Imam 'Ali at Al-Najaf, New York, 1941). As royal dedications, the Najaf textiles were probably woven in a royal workshop and the comparable quality of the present brocade would suggest the same.

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