SIGNED HAJJI BABA, NORTH WEST PERSIA, CIRCA 1890

It is relatively rare to find signed carpets from the workshop of the renowned weaver Hajji Baba of Genje. According to verbal tradition within the Persian community, Hajji Baba was an accomplished carpet designer in Kirman before settling in Tabriz. He wove a number of carpets in wool and considerably fewer in silk but all were executed with the same delicacy of design and subtlety of palette. There are also a number of carpets woven in Tabriz which have many of his characteristics but lack his signature, which were reputedly named "Tabriz Baba" in the trade. These are finely woven from materials of the highest quality. Another characteristic is a notable red dye more indicative of a lac dye than the lighter tones from the madder root more commonly associated with the carpets of Tabriz. Two wool carpets signed by the same workshop were sold at Christie's New York, 13 December 2000, lots 100 and 164, while a large silk carpet of a similarly fine overall design of delicate flowering vine, sold Christie's London, 24 October 2024, lot 267.