WEST PERSIA, CIRCA 1880

The intricate lattice design of split-palmettes on the present carpet began to be woven in north west Persia in the 18th century. In her article 'A Group of Inscribed Carpets from Persian Kurdistan', HALI, vol.4, no.2, 1981, pp.124-127, Annette Ittig discusses a small group of finely woven carpets with inscriptions, commissioned by an eminent figure from the district of Garrus and dated between AH 1295 (1878-9 AD) and AH 1324 (1906-7 AD). These carpets are characterised by their quality and design of large scrolling arabesques and floral shrub motifs derived from 16th and 17th century carpets such as the Bernheimer 'Vase' carpet fragment sold in these Rooms, 14 February 1996, lot 150. Ittig argues that the carpets were the work of a non-commercial venture in the Kurdish area of Garrus, in particular the village of Halvei, north-east of Bijar. One of the best known and earliest carpets from that group, inscribed as being the work of Garrus and dated 1794, was formerly in the McMullan Collection, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (M.S. Dimand and Jean Mailey, Oriental Rugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1973, fig.120, p.87). The rich colours displaying the characteristic arabesque design lent themselves to the demands of the European interior particularly in the second half of the 19th century, and as a result a number of examples are found today in country houses in Britain and western Europe. Close comparables have sold at Christie's London over the years including; 12 October 2012, lot 61; 7 October 2014, lot 70; 19 April 2016, lot 83 and 25 October 2018, lot 301.