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Lot Essay
This carpet fragment is part of one of the Mughal 'spiral-tendril' carpets developed under the rule of the Mughal Emperors Akbar and Jahangir in the early 17th century. While most of these include animal scenes, our fragment follows the vegetal composition of the time, with a large feathery palmette anchoring the vine system along the central axis. This same orientation of the floral design, but with the inclusion of animal hunting groups, is seen on the large ivory ground Mughal carpet in the Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin (I6/74, attributed to circa 1610). It has been suggested that carpets with horizontal designs such as these, were intended to be viewed from the side. This would support their depiction in Mughal miniature painting where carpets in the royal audience halls were displayed and sat upon in a similar manner (Daniel Walker, Flowers Underfoot: Indian Carpets of the Mughal Era, New York 1997, pp.47, figs.2-3, 39-40).
The present design derives from classical Safavid 'in-and-out palmette' models, but most clearly distinguishes itself by the lancet leaves between the palmettes, with halved rosette and palmette blossoms on each side (Friedrich Spuhler, Oriental Carpets in the Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin, London 1988, p.108, no.125). The design proved most popular in both Mughal and Deccan territories from the end of the 16th century, with variations still woven across the subcontinent today (Steven Cohen, 'The Mughal carpets: The "Indian tradition"', Susan Stronge, ed., The Great Mughals: Art, Architecture and Opulence, London, 2024, p.165). Apart from the adaptation of the design, the multi-stranded cotton warps, the madder red ground and the use of ton-sur-ton colouring in our fragment, are all indicative of Indian weaving.
The border of our fragment, consisting of "giant brightly colored palmettes with feathered edges, connected by vines and separated by clusters of blossoms and leaves," is related to that of the famous Ilchester Carpet and that of a carpet in the Toyama Memorial Museum, Saitama, Japan, although both of those borders incorporate additional animal forms (Walker, op.cit., pp.68-9, fig.62). Both of these are attributed to 1610-20.
The present design derives from classical Safavid 'in-and-out palmette' models, but most clearly distinguishes itself by the lancet leaves between the palmettes, with halved rosette and palmette blossoms on each side (Friedrich Spuhler, Oriental Carpets in the Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin, London 1988, p.108, no.125). The design proved most popular in both Mughal and Deccan territories from the end of the 16th century, with variations still woven across the subcontinent today (Steven Cohen, 'The Mughal carpets: The "Indian tradition"', Susan Stronge, ed., The Great Mughals: Art, Architecture and Opulence, London, 2024, p.165). Apart from the adaptation of the design, the multi-stranded cotton warps, the madder red ground and the use of ton-sur-ton colouring in our fragment, are all indicative of Indian weaving.
The border of our fragment, consisting of "giant brightly colored palmettes with feathered edges, connected by vines and separated by clusters of blossoms and leaves," is related to that of the famous Ilchester Carpet and that of a carpet in the Toyama Memorial Museum, Saitama, Japan, although both of those borders incorporate additional animal forms (Walker, op.cit., pp.68-9, fig.62). Both of these are attributed to 1610-20.