POSSIBLY SIGNED 'MINA', ISTANBUL, TURKEY, CIRCA 1920

The knot count measures approximately 13V x 13H knots per cm. sq.

This rug of 'Sultan's Head' design is typical of the work of Zareh Penyamin, having a finer weave and a shorter pile than the rugs woven by Hagop. Like lot 202, it is based on the 'Topkapi' rugs, and particularly on the example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art which was widely published in the early 20th century (acc.no.17.120.124). Unlike Hagop's rug, this example includes the original Qur'anic inscription, with the apotropaic 'throne verse' appearing in the upper part of the border. As well as seeing images of the Metropolitan Museum example in print, Zareh and the other Koum Kapi weavers may also have had direct access to the rugs in the Topkapi collection after the palace was opened as a museum in 1924.

The classical design was not, however, unthinkingly copied by the Koum Kapi weavers. On this example the spandrels, which on the originals are filled with the names of Allah woven onto a striking polychrome background, are filled with a scrolling vine around mosque lamps and birds, which George Farrow identified as Hoopoes. The phrase Allahu akbar in the central cartouche is also replaced with a Persian aphorism.

Many rugs of this type have Zareh Penyamin's square kufic signature in the metal thread, as on a larger example in the George Farrow collection which sold in these Rooms, 25 April 2024, lot 171. Though smaller in size, the design of the present example is almost identical to that larger example, albeit with sections of the design omitted. There are strong similarities in the technique: both are finely woven, including sections of flatwoven silk in the metal thread, a technique which Bensoussan suggests was pioneered by Zareh (Pamela Bensoussan, "The Master Weavers of Istanbul", HALI 26, 1985, p.37).

The signature in the middle, however, is not that of Zareh. Various interpretations have been put forward. The Arabic letters might read 'Mina', the name of an unknown weaver or workshop. Zareh's brother, Keghan, also had a workshop and is known to have copied Zareh's designs, making him a possible candidate. On a visit to Istanbul in 1992, George Farrow's advisor, Arto Keshishian, showed the group to some elderly weavers, who suggested that it could read Allah or even Allah musm - 'well done'. Keshishian himself believed this to be the work of none other than Zareh Penyamin, using a different signature. If this is the case, then this would add to a growing list of distinguishing marks used by Zareh to sign his work, since Farrow also believed the 'Avam' signature on lots 222 and 223 to be Zareh's. As for Farrow, in his 1993 catalogue he simply attributed it to 'an unknown master'.

A further example of a Koum Kapi prayer rug of identical design with an ambiguous signature was sold in these Rooms, 21 April 2015, lot 26.