CENTRAL PERSIA, FIRST HALF 17TH CENTURY

The present lot is a good example of a classic Isfahan "in and out palmette" design. Encouragingly, the dusty red ground has not been extensively repiled where it is worn, and the delicate drawing of the spiralling tendrils remains clear and allows the design to remain fluid in its movement. There has been much discussion as to the precise origin of this group of carpets, whether Persian or Indian. As a group they have remained popular with collectors and decorators ever since their manufacture under the reign of Shah Abbas the Great (1587-1629) right up to the present day. For a brief account of these carpets covering the arguments as to their origins please see the foreword to the Bernheimer Family Collection of Carpets sold in these Rooms, 14th Febraury 1996, pp.15-16. Three examples formerly in the Rothschild Collection were sold in these Rooms, 16 October 1996, lots 404, 405 and 407.