IRAN, 18TH OR 19TH CENTURY

Details

A SILK VELVET AND METAL-THREAD EMBROIDERED PANEL
IRAN, 18TH OR 19TH CENTURY
The red velvet ground embroidered with red, blue, cream and black silk and metal threads, the central field with a rosette surrounded by birds and flowers, the centre of the rosette and cartouches either side with inscription in black nasta'liq, inner border with scrolling foliage and vines, outer border with repeating trefoils, backed
4ft.11in. x 3ft.2in. (150.5 x 99cm.)

Provenance

By repute, acquired by the present owner from the estate of US diplomat Stanton Griffis (d.1974), Florida, 1980

Engraved

In the cartouches at either end mubarak bash 'May good fortune attend you'
In the central cartouche, kasi ki barin charkh takiya [dahad] khurshid ast, 'Whoever leans on this firmament is the sun”

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. 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.

Sale room notice

This Lot is Withdrawn.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

This elegant velvet is lavishly embroidered with both gold and silver threads as well as polychrome silks. The size, finesse of drawing and the palette of the silk on the present textile relate closely to an 18th century velvet hanging in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc.no. 06.181) which would support a similar dating of the present piece. Similarities can also be made to a late 16th or early 17th century embroidered Safavid panel from the Hossein Afshar collection (Aimee Froom, The Legacy of Persian Art: Masterpieces from the Hossein Afshar Collection, Houston, 2017, pp.44-45) demonstrating that the present piece is a very close continuation of Safavid embroidery techniques. A smaller embroidered velvet cover which depicts similar birds and large flowers is in The Textile Museum, Washington D.C. (1977.37.18; see Carol Bier, Woven from the Soul, Spun from the Heart: Textile Arts of Safavid and Qajar Iran, Washington D.C., 1987, pp. 283-84, no. 82).

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