.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The knot count measures approximately 9V x 6H per cm. sq.
The present lot is one of a pair of identical silk Kirman rugs bought in Persia by the Dutch industrialist and respected art collector, Hugo Tutein Nolthenius (1863-1944) the brother of the great grandmother of the present consignor. After Hugo's death in 1944 one was given to a nephew and the other to a niece, the latter being the present example. With the passage of time the whereabouts of the twin rug was unknown until recently, when it was sold in these Rooms, 25 October 2018, lot 325.
This charming silk rug is centred by a single cypress tree flanked by hoopoe birds, together with heavily laden pomegranate trees to either side. The narrative of this scene is led by the strikingly beautiful hoopoe bird which was regarded by many as the ruler of the avian kingdom and which became a symbol of purity for the early Persians. His image was cast as the key character in one of the most famous Persian poems, The Conference of the Birds where he came to represent the figure of a Sufi shaykh or spiritual master who guides disciples along the path to God.
The overall arrangement of the design most likely stems from earlier 'Tree and Flower' Mughal carpets produced in Kashmir in the 17th century, such as a large pair of carpets, one in the Museu Calouste Gulbekian, Lisbon, the other in the Blau collection (Daniel Walker, Flowers Underfoot, New York, 1997, fig.98). India and Persia were closely linked during this period and an increasingly strong Indian stylistic influence can be seen in all the arts of Persia, so it is not surprising that local versions of Mughal carpets began to appear relatively quickly. A closely related silk Kirman rug, formerly part of a private New Jersey collection, with three angular Cypress trees, but with similar paired birds and fruiting decoration, sold Christie's, New York, 20 May 2014, lot 187.
The present lot is one of a pair of identical silk Kirman rugs bought in Persia by the Dutch industrialist and respected art collector, Hugo Tutein Nolthenius (1863-1944) the brother of the great grandmother of the present consignor. After Hugo's death in 1944 one was given to a nephew and the other to a niece, the latter being the present example. With the passage of time the whereabouts of the twin rug was unknown until recently, when it was sold in these Rooms, 25 October 2018, lot 325.
This charming silk rug is centred by a single cypress tree flanked by hoopoe birds, together with heavily laden pomegranate trees to either side. The narrative of this scene is led by the strikingly beautiful hoopoe bird which was regarded by many as the ruler of the avian kingdom and which became a symbol of purity for the early Persians. His image was cast as the key character in one of the most famous Persian poems, The Conference of the Birds where he came to represent the figure of a Sufi shaykh or spiritual master who guides disciples along the path to God.
The overall arrangement of the design most likely stems from earlier 'Tree and Flower' Mughal carpets produced in Kashmir in the 17th century, such as a large pair of carpets, one in the Museu Calouste Gulbekian, Lisbon, the other in the Blau collection (Daniel Walker, Flowers Underfoot, New York, 1997, fig.98). India and Persia were closely linked during this period and an increasingly strong Indian stylistic influence can be seen in all the arts of Persia, so it is not surprising that local versions of Mughal carpets began to appear relatively quickly. A closely related silk Kirman rug, formerly part of a private New Jersey collection, with three angular Cypress trees, but with similar paired birds and fruiting decoration, sold Christie's, New York, 20 May 2014, lot 187.