A Khorossan carpet, Northeast Persia

Hali, Vol. 3, No. 3, London, 1981, p. 252

Michael Franses, 'The Caucasus or North-East Persia: A Question of Attribution', Orient Stars, 1993, pp. 98 & 360, note 143

This magnificent 17th century carpet is one of a select group of weavings from Northeast Persia exemplified by the exceptional Safavid 'Animal and Tree' design carpet offered as lot 160 in this auction.  The unusual structure of such carpets, whereby the jufti knot (with strands of wool being tied over four warps rather than the usual two warps) is utilised, is synonymous with the production of Khorossan.  The use of the jufti knot in conjunction with the more widely used two-warp asymmetric knot allows the weavers of the Northeast to create designs of widely varying angles and styles specific to the area.  A rich and adventurous color palette along with a highly corrosive red insect dye is also associated with Khorossan carpets. This carpet, with its corroded madder ground and sophisticated design is typical of the highest level of Northeast Persian weaving. 

The present carpet is related to a subgroup of 'Lattice' design Khorossan carpets, including an example from the Sanguszko Collection illustrated in Yetkin, Serare, Early Caucasian Carpets in Turkey, Volume II, London, 1978, p. 47, pl. 169.  Here the latticework is merely suggested and the design is dominated by the bold polychrome medallions placed in the foreground.  The sophisticated arrangement of split leaves and vine scrolls supporting the medallions is similar to the field of a mid-17th century 'Arabesque and Medallion' carpet from the Deering Collection published in Pope, A. U., A Survey of Persian Art, Oxford, 1939, pl. 1239.