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拍品专文
The three medallion design on the present rug is frequently found on rugs woven in the Tarim Basin and comprises three indigo-blue roundels set against a brick-red field colour. According to Bidder, the design's origin stems from Ghandara-Buddhism and represents the three lotus flowers which mark the seats for Buddha flanked by two Bodhisattvas (disciples) in the Buddhist temples of Khotan, (H. Bidder, Carpets from East Turkestan, Tübingen, 1964, p.53). Another theory is that these were woven for wedding ceremonies, with the central roundel used by the celebrant, flanked on either side by the wedding couple. Amongst the flowering tendrils decorating each roundel is the Chinese symbol for luck which could support this theory. Hans König discusses the triple medallions in his article on the subject, 'Border Guards,' Hali, pp.42-51, and believes that those carpets woven in Yarkand are identifiable by the absence of additional minor motifs surrounding the medallions on the red ground, and by the near circular formation of each roundel, rather than the more rounded squares of those woven elsewhere in the Tarim Basin. König also identifies the Yarkand carpets as having natural cotton warps, with light blue cotton wefts which is very different to the cotton warps and wool wefts of Khotan weavings, two examples of which are illustrated in the same article, (König, op.cit. figs.5 and 6).
The striking 'cloud-head' border design of this lot is, undeniably, one of the most sought-after and archaic of all East Turkestan border patterns. According to Bidder (Bidder, op.cit., pp.64-65), the source of this design stems most probably from the Chinese single cloud design which has been manipulated into a reciprocal pattern. The cloud-head motif, known as Yün Tsai T'ou, which appears on a later square mat in the same sale, see lot 282, derives from an archetypal Asian symbol of which a similar border motif is found on a 5th-6th century BC felt carpet found at Pazyryk in Siberia, now in the Hermitage, St.Petersburg. Another theory is that it is an adaptation of the prehistoric twin-horn motif, and represents the earthy dark counter-cloud. This (kotchak) design is one that is frequently used in Turkman carpets and jewellery, also symbolising male virility, originally deriving from the horns of a ram. The reciprocal nature of the design means that these are not necessarily mutually exclusive; each one can represent each half of the form. In his classifications, König suggests that those carpets with a 'cloud-head' border in a red and green colour scheme were woven in Yarkand, while those of a red and yellow combination were typically woven in Khotan.
Perhaps the closest comparable to the present carpet, with a near identical green and red reciprocal colour scheme, formerly in the collections of Meyer Müller and Davide Halevim, is now with Moshe Tabibnia, Milan, (Davide Halevim, Oasi. Memorie e Fascino del Turkestan Orientale, Milan, 1999, no.6). Another closely related example to those, sold in Freeman's, Philadelphia, 22 April 2015, lot 342, and another, with an unusual red and light blue reciprocal border was with Sandra Whitman, (König, op.cit., fig.4). An impressive yellow/red 'cloud-head' border appears on a carpet that includes a single partial row of small rosettes at one end of the field, and is illustrated by John J. Eskenazi, Il Tappeto Orientale, Milan, 1983, p.430, pl.293. According to Eskenazi, this carpet was woven in Yarkand however, the red/yellow colour scheme, the inclusion of small flowers in the field and the less successful corner resolution would suggest that this was more likely woven in Khotan. A similar coloured border scheme to that carpet, which included occasional minor half-blossoms set within the cloud collar, sold in Davide Halevim, Magnificent Carpets and Tapestries, Christie's, London, 14 February 2001, lot 99.
Following a thorough study of the group, Hans König was only able to locate approximately twenty East Turkestan triple medallion carpets that displayed the 'Cloud-Head' border, which would suggest that the present carpet is indeed one of a very small group of which few examples appear on the open auction market.
The striking 'cloud-head' border design of this lot is, undeniably, one of the most sought-after and archaic of all East Turkestan border patterns. According to Bidder (Bidder, op.cit., pp.64-65), the source of this design stems most probably from the Chinese single cloud design which has been manipulated into a reciprocal pattern. The cloud-head motif, known as Yün Tsai T'ou, which appears on a later square mat in the same sale, see lot 282, derives from an archetypal Asian symbol of which a similar border motif is found on a 5th-6th century BC felt carpet found at Pazyryk in Siberia, now in the Hermitage, St.Petersburg. Another theory is that it is an adaptation of the prehistoric twin-horn motif, and represents the earthy dark counter-cloud. This (kotchak) design is one that is frequently used in Turkman carpets and jewellery, also symbolising male virility, originally deriving from the horns of a ram. The reciprocal nature of the design means that these are not necessarily mutually exclusive; each one can represent each half of the form. In his classifications, König suggests that those carpets with a 'cloud-head' border in a red and green colour scheme were woven in Yarkand, while those of a red and yellow combination were typically woven in Khotan.
Perhaps the closest comparable to the present carpet, with a near identical green and red reciprocal colour scheme, formerly in the collections of Meyer Müller and Davide Halevim, is now with Moshe Tabibnia, Milan, (Davide Halevim, Oasi. Memorie e Fascino del Turkestan Orientale, Milan, 1999, no.6). Another closely related example to those, sold in Freeman's, Philadelphia, 22 April 2015, lot 342, and another, with an unusual red and light blue reciprocal border was with Sandra Whitman, (König, op.cit., fig.4). An impressive yellow/red 'cloud-head' border appears on a carpet that includes a single partial row of small rosettes at one end of the field, and is illustrated by John J. Eskenazi, Il Tappeto Orientale, Milan, 1983, p.430, pl.293. According to Eskenazi, this carpet was woven in Yarkand however, the red/yellow colour scheme, the inclusion of small flowers in the field and the less successful corner resolution would suggest that this was more likely woven in Khotan. A similar coloured border scheme to that carpet, which included occasional minor half-blossoms set within the cloud collar, sold in Davide Halevim, Magnificent Carpets and Tapestries, Christie's, London, 14 February 2001, lot 99.
Following a thorough study of the group, Hans König was only able to locate approximately twenty East Turkestan triple medallion carpets that displayed the 'Cloud-Head' border, which would suggest that the present carpet is indeed one of a very small group of which few examples appear on the open auction market.