A SHIRVAN HARSHANG CARPET
A SHIRVAN HARSHANG CARPET
A SHIRVAN HARSHANG CARPET
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A SHIRVAN HARSHANG CARPET
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These lots have been imported from outside the EU … Read more VARIOUS PROPERTIES
A SHIRVAN HARSHANG CARPET

EAST CAUCASUS, LATE 17TH/ EARLY 18TH CENTURY

Details
A SHIRVAN HARSHANG CARPET
EAST CAUCASUS, LATE 17TH/ EARLY 18TH CENTURY
Extensive repiling and restoration throughout, naturally corroded brown, minor loss along all four edges
12ft. x 5ft.3in. (368cm. x 164cm.)
Provenance
The Orient Stars Collection, E.H. Kirchheim
Rippon Boswell, 2 October 1999, lot 29
Literature
E Heinrich Kirchheim et.al., Orient Stars, A Carpet Collection, Stuttgart and London, 1993, p.147, no.80
Special notice
These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction. Specifed lots (sold and unsold) marked with a filled square ( ¦ ) not collected from Christie’s, 8 King Street, London SW1Y 6QT by 5.00 pm on the day of the sale will, at our option, be removed to Crown Fine Art (details below). Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent ofsite. If the lot is transferred to Crown Fine Art, it will be available for collection from 12.00 pm on the second business day following the sale. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Crown Fine Art. All collections from Crown Fine Art will be by prebooked appointment only.

Brought to you by

Louise Broadhurst
Louise Broadhurst

Lot Essay

The Harshang design proved to be very popular throughout the late 17th and 18th centuries and was not only adopted by regions in North West Persia but was as equally popular across the border in the Caucasus. It would seem that the design was first used in the city of Herat in the Khorasan region but, in origin, ultimately derives from the Isfahan 'In and Out Palmette' design carpets. In the Kuba district, the popularity of the design continued into the 19th century. Although it was often formalised into a vertically symmetrical design, the non-uniform composition of the present lot only adds to its provincial charm. The colour palette of the present rug is wonderfully varied and vivid and it is certainly unusual to see such an abundant use of the colour aubergine. The wide border proportions in relation to the narrow vertical strip of field are also surprising and suggest that it is much likely that this rug was woven in a provincial village.

Michael Franses notes that the drawing of the present carpet appears more archaic in style and less crowded than other examples of similar design and suggests that; "it is possible that plate 80 represents the earliest surviving example of Harshang design from the Shirvan region, and could well date from the late 17th to the mid 18th century, whereas the more traditional type with Kufic borders were made after the area was conquered by the Russians, when carpet-making became more organised". (E Heinrich Kirchheim et al., Orient Stars, A Carpet Collection, Stuttgart and London, 1993, p.113).

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