Page 141 - 2021 April 1, ART OF THE ISLAMIC AND Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs, Christie's London

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AN AGRA CARPET
NORTH INDIA, LATE 19TH CENTURY
Overall excellent condition
11ft.7in. x 8ft.10in. (354cm. x 270cm.)
£7,000-10,000 US$9,900-14,000
€8,100-12,000

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A NORTH INDIAN CARPET
SIGNED MUHAMMADI [URPANCHECH], DATED 1908 AD
Of 'Ardabil' design, minor localised wear, a small reweave to one end,
overall good condition
17ft.11in. x 12ft.2in. (547cm. x 371cm.)
£6,000-8,000 US$8,500-11,000
€7,000-9,200
INSCRIPTIONS:
In Urdu, [Bah] qalin kar khaneh [milar] sahib [banadarin] muahammadi
[urpancheh]shagerd [dan tayarken]fi saneh 1908, 'Muhammadi
Urpanchech, Student of … in the year 1908'

The 'Ardabil' carpet, from which the present lot takes its design, is
the world's oldest dated carpet AH 946/1539-40 AD and one of
the largest, most beautiful and historically important in the world.
Rescued from the shrine of Shaykh Safi al-Din in Ardabil, Iran
following an earthquake, the carpet was purchased by Ziegler & Co.
and later passed into the hands of the Vincent Robinson company
who successfully sold it in 1893 to the Victoria and Albert Museum
in London, for an enormous sum. In celebration of the sale Edward
Stebbing, the Managing Director of Vincent Robinson, published a
richly illustrated volume lauding the carpet, the result of which was a
wealth of carpets woven with this design in the late nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries not only in Iran but further afield, including
India as seen here. Although the design has stayed true to the original
in the present lot, the colour palette has been re-interpreted to remain
in keeping with more modern interiors.
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