SULTANABAD DISTRICT, WEST PERSIA, CIRCA 1880

By 1883, European demand for Persian carpets had grown so great that the Manchester-based firm Ziegler & Co. opened its first factory in the district of Sultanabad, west Persia, where it coordinated the production and export of Persian carpets for the western markets. While Ziegler designers employed traditional Persian motifs, they placed these in a new context, changed the style and scale of drawing and created a new look for the carpets by altering their palette, using softer, lighter shades within open, large-scale designs. Ziegler carpets were woven in their own workshops but also elsewhere in the city or in outlying villages where the weavers would work from a wagireh (sampler), to ensure a consistently high quality of weave and design. Despite working from fixed cartoons, these independent weavers were allowed a certain freedom of expression, thus it is not uncommon for such carpets to show unique features such as the inclusion of small animals or figures. The present carpet is a perfect example of the high quality produced by the firm, characterised by its superior wool quality, subtle palette and statuesque proportions of design.