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A NORTH WEST PERSIAN CARPET
LATE 18TH CENTURY
Price Realized
£19,700 ($40,326)
Sale Information
Christie's SALE 7429 —
ORIENTAL RUGS
AND CARPETS
25 October 2007
London, King Street
Lot Description
A NORTH WEST PERSIAN CARPET
LATE 18TH CENTURY
Areas of wear, large
reweaves and scattered repairs throughout, corroded brown and black, sides
mostly rewoven, ends rewoven with added fringes
16ft.9in. x 8ft.2in.
(510cm. x 248cm.)
Lot Notes
At first glance this carpet would
appear to be a Caucasian variant of a Dragon carpet however on closer
inspection there are several key differences. If it were of Caucasian origin
the blue ground would be most unusual as only two examples of Dragon carpets
were woven on blue grounds and not the classic red. A list of published
Caucasian carpets of the Dragon design are given by Michael Franses and
Robert Pinner when discussing the Cambalios carpet.
The irregular
and loose geometry in the design of the present carpet would also be an
unusual characteristic as Caucasian drawing is generally much more precise
in its execution, as seen in an early 18th century Karabagh example, (Dennis
Dodds and Murray L. Eiland Jr., Oriental Rugs From Atlantic Collections,
Philadelphia, 1996, pl.90). The white cotton wefted structure of the present
carpet most commonly associated with North West Persian weaving is much more
flexible than the stiffer handling of a contemporary Caucasian carpet.
Another noticeable variation of the design from that of the Caucasian
Dragon carpets is the inclusion of the Persian Safavid leopard with his prey
rather than the lion and the kylin. The present lot incorporates a number of
small animal motifs scattered in the field which one would not expect to
find on Caucasian carpets until the much later, almost invariably much
smaller examples. Despite these differences, this carpet is an important
bridge in terms of historical design migration between the Caucasus and the
Azerbaijan and Kurdish weavers of North West Persia.
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