An Agra Carpet, North India, circa 1860

Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe (1915-2014);

The Duchess: Property and Precious Objects from the Estate of Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe, Sotheby's, London, 27-28 May 2015 lot 206;

Where acquired by the present collector.

Much like the previous two lots, the present carpet incorporates traditional carpet designs of the 17th century Safavid court, based in Isfahan, Persia. The palmettes are slightly enlarged while the dark brown/charcoal border is a contrast to the typical indigo border found in 17th century examples. During the 18th century, carpet weaving in Persia suffered greatly from the military invasions of the Afghan Shahs. As a result of the chaos carpet weaving in Persia came to a near standstill. Meanwhile the weavers in Mughal India continued to weave extraordinary carpets, capitalising on the distinguished designs of earlier weavers. Supported both by the British Raj and the regional power maintained by the Maharajas, 19th century India experienced accomplished artistic activity, particularly in rug weaving. This carpet displays artistic integrity-in both design and material quality- associated with Safavid and Mughal carpets from the 17th century.