A MUGHAL FLORAL EMBROIDERED SUMMER CARPET
A MUGHAL FLORAL EMBROIDERED SUMMER CARPET

MUGHAL INDIA, 18TH CENTURY

細節
A MUGHAL FLORAL EMBROIDERED SUMMER CARPET
MUGHAL INDIA, 18TH CENTURY
Silk-embroidered on plainwoven ivory-coloured cotton ground, with central 8-pointed star shaped medallion bounded by two quatrefoils followed by two lotus-shaped medallions all with embroidered scrolling vines and floral blooms, four spandrels, background of floral blooms and foliage fronds, carpet with border of quatrefoils and floral blooms bounded by two bands of scrolling lotus flowers, bottom edge of carpet including border missing, some repairs, with cotton backing stitched under edges
171¾ x 94½in. (433.9 x 240.2cm.)

榮譽呈獻

Andrew Butler-Wheelhouse
Andrew Butler-Wheelhouse

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拍品專文

Mughal summer carpets were used in the peripatetic Mughal court as floor coverings in royal tents upon which affairs of state were conducted and dignitaries were received. Large ones, such as that offered here, are rare.

The large border of repeating pietra dura-like cartouches closely resembles decoration found on the ceilings of the Aramgah as well as on the carved marble dados of the Diwan-i-'am (public audience hall) of the Red Fort in Delhi. Similar quatrefoil cartouches are also found in the borders of 17th century Mughal carpets. One such carpet with similar cartouches bordered by floral guard borders like that of the textile offered here, is in a private collection - attributed to Northern India, Kashmir or Lahore in the second half of the 17th century (Daniel Walker, Flowers Underfoot. Indian Carpets of the Mughal Era, exhibition catalogue, New York, 1997, fig. 114, p.116). The guard borders with 'wind-blown' floral motifs resemble those on a pashmina carpet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (14.40.723, Walker, op.cit., fig.109, pp.110-111). That carpet is again attributed to Northern India, Kashmir or Lahore, circa 1650. A Mughal summer carpet was sold at Christie's South Kensington as part of the Robert Kime sale, 27 October 2010, lot 304. Another example, with similarly dense and colourful design is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (John Guy and Deborah Swallow, Arts of India: 1550-1900, London, 1990, no.86, p.105).