WEST PERSIA, EARLY 19TH CENTURY

The design of the present rug is a charming portrayal of paradise in the form of a pastoral landscape. The 'After life' or 'Khwanira' is suggested through three sections, with a three-peak mountain range in its middle, densely filled with goats, sheep and chicken amongst which are a couple of prowling lions. Above and below this are lofty cypress and pomegranate trees. Below predatory animals wander through the forest, while above birds take flight towards the heavens.

Two ivory ground examples from this group were with Eberhart Herrmann, Seltene Orientteppiche X, Munich 1988, pp.118-9, pl.53 and another E. Herrmann, Asiatische Teppich-und Textilkunst, Munich, 1992, Vol. 4, Cat. No. 56, pp.124-125, illustrated front cover and sold Sotheby's London, 9 April 2014, lot 210. Other background colour variants exist in the group with two examples displaying red mountains on an indigo ground, see E. Herrmann, Asiatische Teppich-und Textilkunst, Munich, 1991, Vol. 3, No.29, pp.66-67 and another with James D. Burns, Seattle, included in an article discussing the venerated symbolism of the tree and the Iranian attribute of immortality to the pyramidal cypress, (see Susan Day, 'The Tree of Life – Textiles and Carpets in the Context of Nature Worship', HALI, Issue 170, 2011, pp.86-95). Another example displaying three mountain peaks, similar to the present lot, rather than the more common five peaks, has a red ground with tall trees above and below but which have almost entirely lost their leafy, fruiting canopies, (E.Herrmann, Seltene Orientteppiche IX, Munich 1987, pp.124-5, pl.54).

A larger and later woven example demonstrates the evolution and development of the 'Paradise' design in the second half of the 19th century, where the design is adapted to the larger scale, including the reflection of trees in the water, a feature not found in any of the other examples (Anon sale, Christie's London, 24 April 2012, lot 29).