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Sotheby's Sale: N08503 | Location: New York
Auction Dates: Session 2: Tue, 25 Nov 08 2:00 PM
LOT 300 (of 147)
A TABRIZ SILK CARPET, NORTHWEST PERSIA,
circa 1880
500,000—700,000 USD
MEASUREMENTS: approximately 20ft. 1in. by 13ft. (6.12 by 3.96m.)
original end finishes
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Warp: silk, Z2S, natural ivory
Weft: silk, 2Z, red and natural ivory, 2 shoots
Pile: silk, asymmetrical knot open to the right
Density: 23-24 horizontal, 25-27 vertical
Sides: 4 warp cords overcast in copper red silk
Ends: ivory kilim with tied warp fringes
Colors: vermillion, dusty rose, golden rod, light apricot, teal, royal blue,
green-blue, sage, ivory
CATALOGUE NOTE
Weavers in the city of Tabriz were among the most versatile craftsmen in
Persia who were able to adapt to the perpetually-changing markets of the
late nineteenth century, when western interest in Persian carpets had
dramatically increased. Tabrizi weavers were able to easily understand and
produce what domestic and foreign customers wanted, which made Tabriz one of
the most important weaving centers catering to foreigners in the late 1800s
and the early 1900s, when most of the city's carpet industry was controlled
by German firms, see Murray L. Eiland Jr. and Murray Eiland III, Oriental
Carpets, London, 1998, p. 89. To satisfy the increased demand, carpets in
Tabriz were woven in every size and shape, with different color palettes and
designs and employing wool, cotton and silk. Carpets with both rectangular
and curvilinear designs were produced in Tabriz and it is impossible to
associate weavings from the city with one particular look or color scheme.
However, no matter how creative weavers became with shapes, motifs and
color, they always produced precisely drawn and carefully executed pieces.
Among the rarest pieces woven in Tabriz are large silk carpets that were
most often made as special commissions due to the expense of this luxurious
material. Silk carpets from Tabriz are always very closely sheared and
exceptionally pliable, and have very sophisticated and intricate, often more
traditional, designs than their woolen counterparts. With its centralized
composition in the field displaying a complex variant of the 'Vase' design,
the lot offered here is a superlative example of a large silk carpet from
Tabriz. The Safavid-inspired field design is framed by a border
incorporating a selection of smaller panels recalling prayer rugs. Many of
the niches include plants and flowering shrubs that link the present carpet
to seventeenth and eighteenth-century garden carpets. This revived interest
in Safavid art is a characteristic of the late Qajar era at the end of the
nineteenth century. As the Qajar Dynasty (1794-1925) was in decline,
recalling the glorious Persian past, often instigated by the curiosity of
Europeans traveling in the area, was common among local artists and
craftsmen. Unlike the design, the color palette of the carpet offered here
is more unusual as the use of such mellow and soft colors with gentle
juxtapositions was not in fashion at the time, when saturated hues and bold
contrasts were used by most weavers. The very high quality of craftsmanship,
the emblematic design executed in unusual colors, along with the delicate
material preserved in its virtually original condition and the large size
make the carpet offered here a testament to the excellence of Qajar-era
carpet weaving.
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Warp: silk, Z2S, natural ivory
Weft: silk, 2Z, red and natural ivory, 2 shoots
Pile: silk, asymmetrical knot open to the right
Density: 23-24 horizontal, 25-27 vertical
Sides: 4 warp cords overcast in copper red silk
Ends: ivory kilim with tied warp fringes
Colors: vermillion, dusty rose, golden rod, light apricot, teal, royal blue,
green-blue, sage, ivory
CATALOGUE NOTE
Weavers in the city of Tabriz were among the most versatile craftsmen in
Persia who were able to adapt to the perpetually-changing markets of the
late nineteenth century, when western interest in Persian carpets had
dramatically increased. Tabrizi weavers were able to easily understand and
produce what domestic and foreign customers wanted, which made Tabriz one of
the most important weaving centers catering to foreigners in the late 1800s
and the early 1900s, when most of the city's carpet industry was controlled
by German firms, see Murray L. Eiland Jr. and Murray Eiland III, Oriental
Carpets, London, 1998, p. 89. To satisfy the increased demand, carpets in
Tabriz were woven in every size and shape, with different color palettes and
designs and employing wool, cotton and silk. Carpets with both rectangular
and curvilinear designs were produced in Tabriz and it is impossible to
associate weavings from the city with one particular look or color scheme.
However, no matter how creative weavers became with shapes, motifs and
color, they always produced precisely drawn and carefully executed pieces.
Among the rarest pieces woven in Tabriz are large silk carpets that were
most often made as special commissions due to the expense of this luxurious
material. Silk carpets from Tabriz are always very closely sheared and
exceptionally pliable, and have very sophisticated and intricate, often more
traditional, designs than their woolen counterparts. With its centralized
composition in the field displaying a complex variant of the 'Vase' design,
the lot offered here is a superlative example of a large silk carpet from
Tabriz. The Safavid-inspired field design is framed by a border
incorporating a selection of smaller panels recalling prayer rugs. Many of
the niches include plants and flowering shrubs that link the present carpet
to seventeenth and eighteenth-century garden carpets. This revived interest
in Safavid art is a characteristic of the late Qajar era at the end of the
nineteenth century. As the Qajar Dynasty (1794-1925) was in decline,
recalling the glorious Persian past, often instigated by the curiosity of
Europeans traveling in the area, was common among local artists and
craftsmen. Unlike the design, the color palette of the carpet offered here
is more unusual as the use of such mellow and soft colors with gentle
juxtapositions was not in fashion at the time, when saturated hues and bold
contrasts were used by most weavers. The very high quality of craftsmanship,
the emblematic design executed in unusual colors, along with the delicate
material preserved in its virtually original condition and the large size
make the carpet offered here a testament to the excellence of Qajar-era
carpet weaving.
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