ATTRIBUTABLE TO ZAREH PENYAMIN, ISTANBUL, TURKEY, CIRCA 1920

The knot count measures approximately 12V x 12H knots per cm. sq.

Zareh Penyamin is probably best known for the 'Sultan's Head' rugs, not only because of their iconic design but also for the technical skill which went into their production. The weaving is of remarkable quality, and the dyes have been carefully mixed so as to prevent the development of any abrash bands in the field. Still more distinctive is the supplementary inclusion of flatwoven coloured silk within the gold and silver gilt metal-thread highlights, a technique which Zareh himself pioneered (Pamela Bensoussan, ‘The Master Weavers of Istanbul”, HALI 26, 1985, p.37). Zareh was considered to be a perfectionist who oversaw and curated all aspects of any single work with the utmost attention to detail, demanding the highest standards from his weavers. He went to great pains to acquire the best material for his weavers: silk was acquired in the old Ottoman capital of Bursa, across the sea from Istanbul, while silver and gold-gilt thread was purchased in Lyon, France.

The inscription cartouche in the center of the niche contains a date corresponding to the year 1582 of the Christian calendar, written out in Persian. This spurious attribution links the rug to the heyday of carpet weaving in Safavid Iran. The design is based upon the Safavid 16th and 17th wool prayer rugs found in the Topkapi treasury, examples of which Zareh may have seen whilst in the Sultan's employ. The inscription may have been copied by Zareh from an original. However, no such carpet is recorded in the catalogue of known examples of Topkapi prayer rugs, collated by Michael Franses, (see Murray Eiland Jr. and Robert Pinner, eds., Oriental Carpet and Textile Studies, vol. V, part 2: The Salting Carpets, ICOC, 1999). It may be that the inscription was deliberately generic, using the common name ‘Abdallah’ and a date possibly chosen at random, but evocative of the fine work of the early Safavid era.

A cartoon, drawn on graph paper and attributed to Zareh Penyamin, is published by Pamela Bensoussan, op cit., p.38. It features an identical mihrab niche with the same elongated inverted sides and lobed crest, and incorporates a triangular inscription cartouche exactly matching that on the present rug. Such designs would be used and re-used while the master weavers experimented with various combinations of mainly pastel-coloured palettes. The designs themselves were also subject to deliberate variation: a rug in the Arkas collection, Izmir, for example, has both different minor strips and colour palette to the present rug (Kumkapi rugs from the Arkas Collection, exhibition catalogue, Izmir, 2017, pp.64-5, no.17).

Other rugs with a matching cartoon and further variations on the colour and borders include examples sold in these Rooms, 22 April 1999, lot 18; 10 October 2008, lot 50; 7 October 2010, lot 77; and 23 April 2013, lot 138. Further examples were sold; Christie’s New York, 26 November 2013, lot 242; Sotheby’s London, 31 March 2021, lot 139 and 6 April 2011, lot 478.