Page 132 - 2021 April 1, ART OF THE ISLAMIC AND Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs, Christie's London

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A COMPOSITE RUG FORMED OF A RARE SAFAVID TABRIZ
CARPET BORDER
of border sections together with the original soft green scrolling vine inner
NORTH WEST PERSIA, SECOND HALF 16TH CENTURY
guard stripe (F. Spuhler, Islamic Carpets and Textiles in the Keir Collection,
Consisting of a number of sections of the same carpet stitched together,
London, 1978, pp.84-5, no.43).
touches of tint, yellow guard stripe rewoven, unevenly worn
6ft.3in. x 4ft.2in. (193cm. x 131cm.) Three smaller fragments of varying size are known, each bearing the
£15,000-20,000 US$22,000-28,000 same green inner guard stripe. One is in the Victoria and Albert Museum,
€18,000-23,000 London, (acc. no. T.30-1956) purchased from an Istanbul source; another
was formerly with The Textile Gallery, London, now in a private Milanese
PROVENANCE: collection; and a third fragment, formerly in the Wher collection, sold in
Formerly in the Arhan Collection, Sweden
these Rooms, on 3 May 2001 lot 75 and 10 October 2016, lot 188. The Wher
LITERATURE: fragment differs from the others in that it displays an energetic pattern
P.R.J.Ford, The Persian Carpet Tradition, London, 2018, p.188-9, fig.209 of vinery taken from the top left indigo spandrel rather than the border. A
slither of this same pattern can be seen on the Milanese fragment which also
This fragment, with no visible signs of fading, is a perfect example of just
confirms that the carpet was woven with a green internal guard stripe and a
how brilliant the colours of Safavid carpets were when they first came off the
golden yellow outer guard stripe which has been rewoven on our fragment (J.
looms. It consists of two main sections with smaller inclusions taken from
Eskenazi, Il tappeto orientale dal XV al XVIII secolo, London, 1981, pp.43-43,
the border of the same carpet. The broad cherry-red border is dominated by
fig.3 & no.23). The exuberant drawing of the spandrel on the Wher fragment
two entwined mid-blue strapwork arabesque bands that are punctuated with
and the scale of the drawing is very similar to that in the ivory spandrel on the
tonal green and brown palmettes that alternate in direction. Both are crisply
complete Rothschild Tabriz Medallion carpet, sold Christie’s London, 8 July
drawn and are accentuated by sharp white outlines and are uncommonly
1999, lot 188.
woven in the same colour while most other examples from this group are
woven in contrasting colours. Beneath these run thin vines dotted with small The same green inner guard stripe present on the other fragments from
leaves, palmettes and flowers. A slightly larger fragment (248 x 135cm.) from this group is displayed on a carpet with a pale apricot field centred with a
the same carpet, formerly in a private Parisian collection, was purchased by 16-point medallion that was shown by Yves Mikaeloff at the 14th Biennale
the Keir Collection in 1970. That fragment displays a similar arrangement Antiquaires, (HALI, Issue 41, Sept-Oct 1988, p.94).
130 In addition to the hammer price, a Buyer’s Premium (plus VAT) is payable. Other taxes and/or an Artist Resale Royalty
fee are also payable if the lot has a tax or λ symbol. Check Section D of the Conditions of Sale at the back of this catalogue.