NORTH INDIA, 17TH CENTURY

A number of extraordinary carpets were produced under the reign of emperor Shah Jahan (r.1628-1658) which reflected the decorative opulence and richness of his court. Until around 1630, Indian carpet designs were based upon earlier Persian models but after this point artists were encouraged to develop a greater ‘Indian’ style. As shown by the present fragment, many of the carpets contained characteristic ruby-red fields decorated with floral designs conceived with a new and refreshingly accurate botanical realism, which was similarly employed in contemporaneous Indian paintings and architecture, (see Robert Skelton, A decorative motif in Moghul Art, Aspects of Indian Art, Los Angeles, 1972, p.147). A fragment from a carpet of the same group was recently sold in these Rooms, 28 October 2020, lot 206.