Lot Essay
It is difficult to ascribe an exact date or provenance to this carpet as no similar piece has been found or published. Most likely, it was woven in the golden triangle area of East Anatolia/Northwest Persia in a Kurdish district for a local noble. The general format and intense colors are akin to 17th century Northwest Persian carpets. The border layout of panels enclosing quatrefoils is highly unusual, and a very similar quatrefoil device embracing a lotus flower can be found in a Northwest Persian medallion carpet in the Keir collection (please see Sphuler, F., Islamic Carpets and Textiles in the Keir Collection, London, 1978, p. 98, pl. 45). However, the rosettes in the field, the minor outer guard stripe, filler motifs in the border and most importantly, the structure, relate to East Anatolian examples. The sampler nature of the design, especially in the border, further enhances this very unique, compelling and enigmatic weaving.
Warp: wool, medium, grey-brown, natural, slightly mixed, Z2S
Weft: wool, dark brown, natural Z2S, a few Z1, 2 shoots alternating, 1 straight, 1 wavy
Pile: wool, Z2, horizontal 6 x vertical 10, Knot halves displaced vertically, slightly symmetric knots, Varying warp depression 0 - 45
Sides, Ends: Not original. Loss to bottom end
Warp: wool, medium, grey-brown, natural, slightly mixed, Z2S
Weft: wool, dark brown, natural Z2S, a few Z1, 2 shoots alternating, 1 straight, 1 wavy
Pile: wool, Z2, horizontal 6 x vertical 10, Knot halves displaced vertically, slightly symmetric knots, Varying warp depression 0 - 45
Sides, Ends: Not original. Loss to bottom end