Lot 78
78
A 'MILLEFLEURS' KANI PRAYER MAT
A 'MILLEFLEURS' KANI PRAYER MAT
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These lots have been imported from outside the EU … Read more PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT EUROPEAN COLLECTION
A 'MILLEFLEURS' KANI PRAYER MAT

KASHMIR, NORTH INDIA, 1780-1805

Details
A 'MILLEFLEURS' KANI PRAYER MAT
KASHMIR, NORTH INDIA, 1780-1805
Wool loom woven
44 3/8 x 27 ¾in. (112.5 x 75.5cm.)
Special notice
These lots have been imported from outside the EU or, if the UK has withdrawn from the EU without an agreed transition deal, from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

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Lot Essay

The elaborate decoration of this mat reflects the rapid rise in popularity of distinctive and vibrant floral designs in painting under the Mughal Emperor Jahangir (r.1605-1627) (Ames, 2007, pp. 193-209, p.198). By using the kani (twill-tapestry) technique, also used in shawl production, the floral designs in mats such as the present example took on an elegant “painterly quality” with much finer detail (Ames, 2007., p.201). A prayer mat with very similar floral designs to the present lot is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (inv.no. 99.156). A further prayer mat with a comparable design was sold in these Rooms, An Important Collection of Kashmir Shawls, 11-18 June 2019, lot 17.

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