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Lot Essay
The knot count measures approximately 9V x 9H per cm. sq.
This remarkable pictorial carpet, woven under one of the great Kirman master weavers, visualises the revival of the popular Ni'matullahi Sufi order in Iran during the late 18th and 19th centuries. The figures depicted within the medallions identify five historical Sufis who played a key role in what has been dubbed the 'Ni'matullahi Renaissance.'
Ni'matullah Wali (d.1431), occupying the centre of the carpet, wearing a distinctive golden garb, was the eponymous founder of the order. Born in Aleppo, Syria, he was a Sufi, mystic philosopher, poet, playing a crucial role in the revival and popularization of Sufism and Shiism in Iran during the Timurid Empire (fl.15th-16th century), before the eventual state-led conversion to Shiism under the Safavids (1501-1722).
Living until the age of 104, he travelled extensively throughout the Islamic world, from Yemen to Samarkand, where he reportedly met Timur (1336-1405), settling eventually, fittingly, in Kirman, where his shrine remains to this day (Reza Tabandeh, The Rise of the Ni'matullahi Order: Shi'ite Sufi Masters Against Islamic Fundamentalism in 19th-Century Persia, Leiden, 2021, p.17). Two young Sufis are each presenting him a large flower, symbolic of the blossoming, blessed Sufi path, to which the millefleur (pers. golriz) carpet adds a symbolic layer.
The two figures below are the Ni'matullah Sufi masters, Mushtaq 'Ali Shah (d.1792) to the left and Nur 'Ali Shah (d.1806) to the right, students of Ma'sum 'Ali Shah (d.1797), an Indian Ni'matullahi who initiated the revival in Iran. Arriving at Shiraz under the rule of Karim Khan Zand (r.1751-79), he attracted thousands of disciples with his charisma and enthusiasm, including Mushtaq 'Ali and Nur 'Ali, who joined him as the first masters of the revival. Propagating throughout Iran, they challenged the state-sponsored clerical class in the traditionalist Zand-ruled South, finding short-lived patronage in Qajar-ruled North under Aqa Muhammad Khan Qajar (r.1742-97) instead (Tabandeh, op.cit. p.18-9). This opposition led to their assassinations in 1792 and 1806. Of the two, Nur 'Ali Shah was the most important disciple (on his life and mission, see ibid., pp.75-81). This is shown in the proportions of their sizes, but also in the repeating depictions of Nur ‘Ali in the four corner medallions in the field and six further medallion within the border.
Spiritually and poetically associated with all three are the two upper figures of the medallion. To the left Sultan Bayazid Bastami, a famous 9th century Sufi and follower of the Shiite Imams, accused of heretical belief by his orthodox contemporaries for his ecstatic utterances (Tabandeh, op.cit., pp.131-3, 145), and to the right Shams al-Din Tabrizi, the spiritual guide of Jalal al-Din Rumi (d.1273), whose student-guide relationship Ni'matullahis would frequently emulate and reference (ibid., pp.82-3). Bayazid and Shams were often depicted in the Qajar arts, such as on a lacquer pencase sold in these Rooms (26 April 2005, lot 200).
Iconographically, these depictions are idealised, as the Ni'matullah order, from Shah Ni'matullah himself down to his successors Mushtaq 'Ali Shah and Nur 'Ali Shah, made an egalitarian and inclusive effort in not wearing distinctive taj (Sufi hat) or clothes. The latter two even appeared in the Qalandar cloaks of wandering dervishes (Tabandeh, op.cit., pp.17-8). Instead, they are depicted with, and sitting on, the typical accoutrements of a dervish; the hat, staff, begging bowl, and the animal skin. Curiously, Shams al-Tabrizi has a rather feminized appearance as the only nude figure, with defined breasts.
A carpet with a nearly identical drawing also signed 'The work of Muhammad Ibn Ja'far' was sold in these Rooms 19 October 1993, lot 587. Ours, however, is twice its size, allowing for greater millefleur detail, two additional dervishes in the borders on both sides, and the man mounted on a cheetah, using a serpent as the bridle.
Muhammad ibn Ja'far' (1870-1910) was a celebrated master-weaver who established his workshop in Kirman and who, in his lifetime, became known as 'the King of Persian Rugs'. He is also thought to have been the father of the celebrated weaver Abul Qasim Kirmani. The products of his workshop were characterised by the use of fine kurk wool and intricate designs, many of which were of a pictorial nature.
Further carpets woven by Ibn Ja'far, have sold in these Rooms; 22 April, 1999, lot 51; 10 April 2008, lot 158; 15 April 2010, lot 87; 30 April 2026, lot 181 and 183, each displaying an exceptionally high level of detail, rich colour palette and fine weave. Another carpet depicting Nur 'Ali Shah was sold in these Rooms, 13 October 2005, lot 216.
This remarkable pictorial carpet, woven under one of the great Kirman master weavers, visualises the revival of the popular Ni'matullahi Sufi order in Iran during the late 18th and 19th centuries. The figures depicted within the medallions identify five historical Sufis who played a key role in what has been dubbed the 'Ni'matullahi Renaissance.'
Ni'matullah Wali (d.1431), occupying the centre of the carpet, wearing a distinctive golden garb, was the eponymous founder of the order. Born in Aleppo, Syria, he was a Sufi, mystic philosopher, poet, playing a crucial role in the revival and popularization of Sufism and Shiism in Iran during the Timurid Empire (fl.15th-16th century), before the eventual state-led conversion to Shiism under the Safavids (1501-1722).
Living until the age of 104, he travelled extensively throughout the Islamic world, from Yemen to Samarkand, where he reportedly met Timur (1336-1405), settling eventually, fittingly, in Kirman, where his shrine remains to this day (Reza Tabandeh, The Rise of the Ni'matullahi Order: Shi'ite Sufi Masters Against Islamic Fundamentalism in 19th-Century Persia, Leiden, 2021, p.17). Two young Sufis are each presenting him a large flower, symbolic of the blossoming, blessed Sufi path, to which the millefleur (pers. golriz) carpet adds a symbolic layer.
The two figures below are the Ni'matullah Sufi masters, Mushtaq 'Ali Shah (d.1792) to the left and Nur 'Ali Shah (d.1806) to the right, students of Ma'sum 'Ali Shah (d.1797), an Indian Ni'matullahi who initiated the revival in Iran. Arriving at Shiraz under the rule of Karim Khan Zand (r.1751-79), he attracted thousands of disciples with his charisma and enthusiasm, including Mushtaq 'Ali and Nur 'Ali, who joined him as the first masters of the revival. Propagating throughout Iran, they challenged the state-sponsored clerical class in the traditionalist Zand-ruled South, finding short-lived patronage in Qajar-ruled North under Aqa Muhammad Khan Qajar (r.1742-97) instead (Tabandeh, op.cit. p.18-9). This opposition led to their assassinations in 1792 and 1806. Of the two, Nur 'Ali Shah was the most important disciple (on his life and mission, see ibid., pp.75-81). This is shown in the proportions of their sizes, but also in the repeating depictions of Nur ‘Ali in the four corner medallions in the field and six further medallion within the border.
Spiritually and poetically associated with all three are the two upper figures of the medallion. To the left Sultan Bayazid Bastami, a famous 9th century Sufi and follower of the Shiite Imams, accused of heretical belief by his orthodox contemporaries for his ecstatic utterances (Tabandeh, op.cit., pp.131-3, 145), and to the right Shams al-Din Tabrizi, the spiritual guide of Jalal al-Din Rumi (d.1273), whose student-guide relationship Ni'matullahis would frequently emulate and reference (ibid., pp.82-3). Bayazid and Shams were often depicted in the Qajar arts, such as on a lacquer pencase sold in these Rooms (26 April 2005, lot 200).
Iconographically, these depictions are idealised, as the Ni'matullah order, from Shah Ni'matullah himself down to his successors Mushtaq 'Ali Shah and Nur 'Ali Shah, made an egalitarian and inclusive effort in not wearing distinctive taj (Sufi hat) or clothes. The latter two even appeared in the Qalandar cloaks of wandering dervishes (Tabandeh, op.cit., pp.17-8). Instead, they are depicted with, and sitting on, the typical accoutrements of a dervish; the hat, staff, begging bowl, and the animal skin. Curiously, Shams al-Tabrizi has a rather feminized appearance as the only nude figure, with defined breasts.
A carpet with a nearly identical drawing also signed 'The work of Muhammad Ibn Ja'far' was sold in these Rooms 19 October 1993, lot 587. Ours, however, is twice its size, allowing for greater millefleur detail, two additional dervishes in the borders on both sides, and the man mounted on a cheetah, using a serpent as the bridle.
Muhammad ibn Ja'far' (1870-1910) was a celebrated master-weaver who established his workshop in Kirman and who, in his lifetime, became known as 'the King of Persian Rugs'. He is also thought to have been the father of the celebrated weaver Abul Qasim Kirmani. The products of his workshop were characterised by the use of fine kurk wool and intricate designs, many of which were of a pictorial nature.
Further carpets woven by Ibn Ja'far, have sold in these Rooms; 22 April, 1999, lot 51; 10 April 2008, lot 158; 15 April 2010, lot 87; 30 April 2026, lot 181 and 183, each displaying an exceptionally high level of detail, rich colour palette and fine weave. Another carpet depicting Nur 'Ali Shah was sold in these Rooms, 13 October 2005, lot 216.