Page 245 - ART OF THE ISLAMIC AND INDIAN WORLDS Carpets, Ceramics Objects, Christie's London Oct..27, 2022

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE GERMAN COLLECTION
■*227
A 'COMPARTMENT' CARPET FRAGMENT
PROBABLY DAMASCUS, SYRIA, SECOND HALF
16TH CENTURY
Comprising several sections of border and field, localised
repairs, lined
6ft.10in. x 4ft.5in. (209cm. x 135cm.)
£25,000-35,000 US$29,000-40,000
€29,000-40,000 of the North West Persian medallion carpets (F. Spuhler,
Islamic Carpets and Textiles in the Keir Collection, London,
PROVENANCE: 1978, no.40, pp.78-79), another that appeared on the
With Hans Purrmann, Germany, until 1966 London and New York markets with overall palmette vine
German Private Collection, thence by descent (HALI, Issue 71, October/November 1993, p.100) which
relates to two fragments in the Keir Collection (F. Spuhler,
LITERATURE:
op. cit., no.39, p.77), and one of clear Ottoman design
M. Volkmann, Alte Orientteppiche -- Ausgewählte Stücke
deutscher Privatsammlungen, Munich, 1985, no.5, pp.24-25 also in the Vakiflar Museum, Istanbul (B. Balpinar, and B.
Hirsch, op. cit., p.128 and pl.58).
The attribution of the 'compartment' rugs to Syria is
one that dates back a considerable time. In 1909 Konsul Of the vast majority that have fields almost identical to
Bernheimer bought his example (sold in these Rooms, that seen here, all the small examples (mostly with 3
14 February 1996, lot 27) as an "alter syrischer Teppich". x 2 medallions) share an identical standard border. Of
Yet this attribution is far from certain. While the group the largest examples only one has the standard border;
has a clear homogeneity within itself, its combination of the others have differing more complex designs. It is
technical structure and design motifs make it very difficult particularly in these border designs that the relationship
to place. Egypt, Rhodes, the Adana plain and East Anatolia between the larger carpets with the standard field and
have all been proposed. The subject is discussed at length those with field variants can be linked. The present
in various places, the fullest of which are R. Pinner and carpet is a case in point; its border of addorsed serrated
M.Franses, 'The Eastern Mediterranean Carpet Collection split-palmettes, linked by a meandering angular leafy
in the Victoria and Albert Museum', HALI vol.4, no.1, pp.37- vine, shares the same design elements as the second
52 and F. Spuhler, 'Chessboard Rugs', in Oriental Carpet & of the two carpets in the Vakiflar Museum mentioned
Textile Studies II, London, 1986, pp.261-269. above. The same border elements are also found in
two other carpets in the same collection (B. Belkis and
The development of many of the motifs from the Mamluk B. Balpinar, op. cit., pls.60 and 61). Both the last two
carpets of the 15th century is clear. The continuous knot carpets are symmetrically knotted and are ascribed by
small medallion surrounded by inverted or radiating the authors to Syria or south eastern Anatolia.
motifs is easy to parallel and the balance of colours,
although slightly different in hue, gives a very similar One of the most impressive carpets from this group is
overall effect. The structural analysis is however in the Al Sabah collection, Kuwait, which was bought
completely different, in particular in the way the wool here in these Rooms, 17 October, lot 417. Comprising fifteen
is given a 'Z' ply rather than the typical 'S' of the products hexagons, arranged in rows of three by five, the field is
of Egypt. A linking piece is a rug of the same structure enclosed within a strikingly similar border to the present
as the present carpet from the so-called Para-Mamluk lot; the colouring in the border however is altered so that
group, formerly in the Pietro Barbieri collection, which has the addorsed arabesques are light yellow rather than red
the same field panels as are found here but arranged in a as in the present lot.
classic 2-1-2 formation, the central panel having a larger
version of the design than the spandrels (M. and V. Viale, In his note on the present fragment, Martin Volkmann
Arazzi e Tappeti Antichi, Turin, 1952, pl.150). An attribution points out that a detail of another carpet was published
to Turkey however must also be discounted since the by F. Sarre in the 1908 supplement to the "Wiener Werk".
carpets are knotted with an asymmetric knot open to It is probable that that carpet, which is now in a private
the left in the same way as the Mamluk carpets but European collection was part of a larger but reduced
contrasting strongly with the symmetric Turkish knot. carpet sold from the estate of Mrs. Harry H. Blum,
Sotheby's New York, 1 May 1982, lot 295. Both have the
Most of the group shows field designs that are variants same border design but are woven in a counterposed
of that seen here. It is generally thought that most of palette where the arabesques are woven in blue on a red
those with larger central panels set within octagons, the ground and the related but more complex field design
corners filled with small triangles, antedate the more of different sizes of radiating roundels and quartered
typical hexagonal panelled field as seen here. Other field lozenges is on a camel-brown ground.
designs are occasionally encountered, such as the overall Despite the fragmentary state of the present carpet
cloudband design of Persian influence in Berlin (F. Spuhler, original parts of the ivory cintamani and ‘s’ motif outer
Oriental Carpets in the Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin, guard stripe remain, which appears to be unique amongst
London, 1987, p.66. no.73 and pl.216), the related example this group. The elegantly drawn border and field, much of
in the Vakiflar Museum (B. Balpinar and B. Hirsch, Carpets which retains a lively sense of colour, suggest that it would
of the Vakiflar Museum, Istanbul, Wesel, 1988, p.130 and once have been part of an important carpet from a rare
pl.59), one in the Keir Collection which shows the influence group whose origin continues to be widely speculated.
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