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Lot Essay
Under the reign of Shah 'Abbas (1587-1629), the Persian capital was moved to the city of Isfahan in central Persia, where he established court workshops to produce exceptional carpets for export, diplomatic gifts and the Persian nobility. Safavid Isfahan red-ground carpets, with their scrolling arabesques terminating in palmettes, typically framed by a deep indigo or green border of corresponding design, are one of the most familiar groups of classical carpets that have survived to the present day.
Although our carpet survives as a fragment, it nevertheless exemplifies the rich and dynamic designs of the group given the whip-like cloud band and the radiating saz leaves. In its complete form, the repeating pattern would have participated in a dramatic floral display, comparable to the magnificent Lafões Carpet, formerly part of the Corcoran collection, which was sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 5 June 2013, lot 19. Following Jessica Hallett’s chronology of Isfahan carpets, our fragment, like the Lafões Carpet, dates to the second half of the seventeenth century given the appearance of the paired, overlapping lancet leaves in the borders (Hallett, 2007, p. 96). Further comparable carpets of the same group as our fragment were exhibited in the Museu National de Arte Antiga, Lisbon (see Hallett, op. cit., pp. 96 and 100-101, nos. 29 and 33-34).
The present fragment and the Lafões Carpet share many design features including the large, feather-like saz leaves in the field, the intricate swirls within the cloud bands, the complex layered saz leaves in the borders, and the delicately-drawn trellis that frames them. Despite its wear, our fragment still reveals a comparable palette such as the rich crimson ground and the contrasting golden yellow and powder blue leaves. Moreover, the width of our fragment is only marginally shorter than the Lafões Carpet which stands at 432cm. These close similarities in the design and scale of both carpets suggest that our fragment was probably produced in the same workshop, woven as part of an equally impressive commission, that would have measured at least 40ft. in length.
Although our carpet survives as a fragment, it nevertheless exemplifies the rich and dynamic designs of the group given the whip-like cloud band and the radiating saz leaves. In its complete form, the repeating pattern would have participated in a dramatic floral display, comparable to the magnificent Lafões Carpet, formerly part of the Corcoran collection, which was sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 5 June 2013, lot 19. Following Jessica Hallett’s chronology of Isfahan carpets, our fragment, like the Lafões Carpet, dates to the second half of the seventeenth century given the appearance of the paired, overlapping lancet leaves in the borders (Hallett, 2007, p. 96). Further comparable carpets of the same group as our fragment were exhibited in the Museu National de Arte Antiga, Lisbon (see Hallett, op. cit., pp. 96 and 100-101, nos. 29 and 33-34).
The present fragment and the Lafões Carpet share many design features including the large, feather-like saz leaves in the field, the intricate swirls within the cloud bands, the complex layered saz leaves in the borders, and the delicately-drawn trellis that frames them. Despite its wear, our fragment still reveals a comparable palette such as the rich crimson ground and the contrasting golden yellow and powder blue leaves. Moreover, the width of our fragment is only marginally shorter than the Lafões Carpet which stands at 432cm. These close similarities in the design and scale of both carpets suggest that our fragment was probably produced in the same workshop, woven as part of an equally impressive commission, that would have measured at least 40ft. in length.