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Lot Essay
The present lot relates to a group of rugs and carpets currently attributed to the town of Erzurum in Eastern Anatolia. In the past, these have also been ascribed to nearby Northwest Persia. This attribution has been suggested because of the similar central pendant medallion found in several other examples all dating to the late 18th century. A unique rug in this group was featured on the cover of Hali (Vol. 4 No. 4, 1982) and was described as an 'Anatolian Medallion' rug with a pendant akin to the present lot but on a red herringbone field (also illustrated in E. Kirchheim, et al., Orient Stars, Stuttgart and London, 1993, p. 151, pl. 83). Next to this rug (pl. 82) is the Sheikh Al Pasha 'Water Lily' Carpet, also part of this group, demonstrating a related pendant. In Orient Stars each is attributed to Northwest Persia and the surrounding regions.
A fragmentary example was sold in The Bernheimer Family Collection of Carpets, Christie's London, 14 February 1996, lot 37. The Bernheimer medallion carpet shares a very similar overall execution in design to our current lot. It has been suggested that the present example may have been originally woven as a pair of divan covers as it appears to have been woven in two sections and joined down the center. Similarly, the Bernheimer example is only one half of the original and could have possibly been also intendend as a divan cover, however, this is only speculative. The striking resemblances of the these examples suggest that they are certainly from the same tradition and region and possibly even the same looms.
A fragmentary example was sold in The Bernheimer Family Collection of Carpets, Christie's London, 14 February 1996, lot 37. The Bernheimer medallion carpet shares a very similar overall execution in design to our current lot. It has been suggested that the present example may have been originally woven as a pair of divan covers as it appears to have been woven in two sections and joined down the center. Similarly, the Bernheimer example is only one half of the original and could have possibly been also intendend as a divan cover, however, this is only speculative. The striking resemblances of the these examples suggest that they are certainly from the same tradition and region and possibly even the same looms.