PROBABLY HAGOP KAPOUDJIAN, PROBABLY PARIS, CIRCA 1925

Unlike the other cartoons in the Farrow collection which were drawn on a single piece of graph paper, these two examples were never attached to a board and consist of a series of cut-outs, pieced together in a collage-like method. With a bewildering array of motifs competing for space with one another they provide an insight into Hagop Kapoudjian's working process. Both designs are based on classical precedents - a Topkapi prayer rug and a Safavid Isfahan carpet respectively - though in both cases additional motifs have been layered on top of the base to create something quite new. This speaks to the way in which the Koum Kapi designers innovatively combined classical motifs in their designs.