A Safavid silk and metal thread figural brocade fragment, Persia

woven with cream, blue, green, pink and brown silk threads on a metal thread ground, with a motif of a youth and attendant

Good colour match tonally with the catalogue photograph. More defined and crisper appearance in reality. Fragment is padded and lined with sienna coloured linen, which is cut at back in small section to reveal the brocade behind. Presently sewn along top edge to piece of board covered in cerise silk. Fragment is edged with floral silk. Distressed area of join, top left. Metal thread ground is tarnished but largely complete, with some minor areas of loss, for example bottom right corner. Light areas to the knees of kneeling figures are loose or lacking, for example see bottom right corner figure, and same area of other kneeling figures. Cream sleeves of one standing figure stable, and sleeves on other figure with some loss, as visible in the photograph. Faces stable.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

An almost identical design, although with a yellow ground, is found on a silk lampas fragment from the sixteenth-century in the Kelekian Collection and illustrated in Pope and Ackerman, A Survey of Persian Art, vol. XI, Ashiya and New York, 1981, pl. 1013B. The motif of a youth being offered dishes of pomegranates by kneeling attendants surrounded by palmettes and saz leaves also appears on a silk lampas fragment of similar date and with a black ground in the Victoria and Albert Museum and illustrated in Pope and Ackerman, pl. 1015A. Fragments from the same brocade have been sold Sotheby's London, 24 October 2007, lot 364 and 5 April 2006, lot 125.