NORTH WEST PERSIA, CIRCA 1870

Details

A SILK HERIZ PRAYER RUG
NORTH WEST PERSIA, CIRCA 1870
Overall very good condition
6ft.1in. x 4ft.6in. (185cm. x 136cm.)

Provenance

With C. John Fine Rugs Ltd., London, 1987

Literature

Personal catalogue, 1993, H 31

Engraved

The proverb inscribed on the rug means 'As the devil has a human face, do not offer your hand to everyone who offers you his'. Bearing a date or commissioning number '812'.

Further Details

Some countries prohibit or restrict the purchase and/or import of Iranian-origin property. Bidders must familiarise themselves with any laws or shipping restrictions that apply to them before bidding. For example, the USA prohibits dealings in and import of Iranian-origin “works of conventional craftsmanship” (such as carpets, textiles, decorative objects, and scientific instruments) without an appropriate licence. Christie’s has a general OFAC licence which, subject to compliance with certain conditions, would enable a buyer to import this type of lot into the USA. If you intend to use Christie’s licence, please contact us for further information before you bid.

Conditions of sale

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Sara Plumbly Director, Head of Department

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Lot Essay

The knot count measures approximately 9V x 8H knots per cm. sq.

A rug of near identical design, bearing the same inscription, was sold Sotheby's New York, 16 December 2009, lot 75. The colour palette on both rugs is very similar but applied differently. The colours on that example were swapped over, with the blue in the border of our rug moved into the spandrels and the central field in brick red rather than ivory. Both, however, were marked with the number '812' in the lower half. In their cataloguing, Sotheby's described this as a date, possibly AH 1280⁄1863 AD. Farrow, however, believed it to be a commissioning number.

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