SOUTH CAUCASUS, MID-18TH CENTURY

The present carpet is a classic example of the Caucasian interpretation of the Palmette and Sickle-leaf design which derives from 17th century Kirman 'vase' carpets. The 'vase' carpet in the Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon shows very clearly the prototype. As here, the design has two addorsed palmettes in the centre which are flanked by whirling palmettes enclosed within great energetic saz leaves (Ettinghausen, R. (intro. by): Persian Art, Calouste Gulbenkian Collection, Lisbon, 1972, no.30). The earliest example of the Caucasian interpretation is probably one in the Harold M. Keshishian Collection (Ellis, Charles Grant: Early Caucasian Rugs, Washington D.C., 1975, pl.22, pp.74-5). That example still has the complete palmettes visibly supported by stems together with somewhat curvilinear drawing. The present carpet shares with most of the group the palmettes truncated by the border, which is itself of the design most frequently encountered. Four other closely related examples are in the Trk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul (Yetkin, S.: Early Caucasian Carpets in Turkey, London, 1978, vol.1, pls.53-56). Six further examples are noted by Ellis in his discussion of the Keshishian carpet.