PROBABLY GUJARAT, INDIA, FOR THE EUROPEAN MARKET, LATE 17TH OR EARLY 18TH CENTURY

Textiles have always been central to Indo-European trade, with Western demand increasing during the 17th century. In particular, silk colcha embroideries from Gujarat were popular as wall hangings, quilts and coverlets, achieving strong results at London auctions in the early decades of the that century (John Irwin and P.R. Schwartz, Studies in Indo-European Textile History, Ahmedabad, 1966, pp.8-19). The embroidered initials 'AR' and 'RA' on four eagles here suggest that this impressive summer carpet, with its lively scenes and plentiful silk dyes, was made for the European market. Although similar but double-headed eagles appear in 16th century Spanish and Portuguese art and earlier embroideries from Portugal's Indian colonies (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 438-1882), Indo-Portuguese trade had declined following their expulsion by the British and Dutch in the early 17th century. Instead, single-headed eagles such as those seen here were depicted and a style shared with Chinese embroideries developed, as "market makers in England in the 18th century sent orders to their agents in India for textiles ‘in the Chinese taste'" (Lanto Synge, 'A Foretaste of Paradise: Indian Export Needlework', HALI Issue 119, p.87; for a contemporary Chinese coverlet with Spink, see Thread of Imagination: Central Asian and Chinese Silks from the 12th to the 19th century, London, 1999, no.22).

A floor spread with similar chevron-patterned guard stripes attributed to Gujarat, early 18th century, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (IS.34-1985). Compared to this and other contemporaneous pieces, our carpet is distinguished for its sheer size, lively motifs, and its bold, tri-coloured sky-blue, cream, and yellow ground, differing from the white ground used in most export embroideries (see Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 98.25; The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1916.1359). An Indo-Portuguese export summer carpet from the Ann & Gordon Getty Collection sold at Christie's New York, 24 October 2022, lot 1130. A later example sold Sotheby's London, 29 April 2026, lot 179. Beyond its size, details such as the vivid colours of the four differently fashioned peacocks make this a unique and particularly fine surviving example.