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A DRAGON SOUMAC
CARPET
SOUTH CAUCASUS, CIRCA 1800
Price Realized Ј20,400
($38,780)
Sale Information
Christie's
Sale 7039
oriental rugs and carpets
28 April 2005
London, King Street
Lot Description
A DRAGON SOUMAC CARPET
SOUTH CAUCASUS, CIRCA 1800
The rust-red field scattered with animal and human motifs together with
flowerheads around a column of hooked polychrome panels with angular vine
and minor motifs flanked by serrated and hooked similar panels, in a
chocolate-brown border of angular panels and hooked bars between rosette and
barber-pole stripes, corrosive brown, localised areas of wear
9ft.10in. x 6ft.10in. (299cm. x 208cm.)
Provenance
The James D. Burns Collection, Christie's, London, 18 October 2001, lot 245
Literature
Burns, James D.: The Caucasus, Traditions in Weaving, Seattle, 1984, no.51.
Lot Notes
In his caption to the entry for this soumac, Burns draws attention to the
similarity of this piece to the seminal example of the group, that formerly
in the Wher collection dated 1223 (1806-7 AD). The group of dragon soumacs
is discussed at some length by Sean Gough ("Dragon Soumacs", Hali vol.6,
no.3, pp.246-253) who illustrates the Wher Collection example as pl.5,
p.249. One feature which stands out on the present carpet is the curvilinear
aspect of the drawing. This renders the elements closer than is usually
found to the earlier pile-woven prototypes. Also interesting are the two
"dragons" inverted at the top of the carpet. Unlike most examples of the
group, the animals are discernable here, with particularly clear faces.
Compared to the myriad small animals and human figures scattered up the
sides of the field they are however upside-down, and it may be more chance
than anything else that has enabled them to appear in recognisable form
here.
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