An Agra carpet, Northwest India,

Pile ranges from 1/8in. to low to knot heads and spot foundation. Oxidized dark browns with some repiled, some further repiling to red ground. Scattered foldwear. Scattered repaired slits and minor reweaves. Small, 1/2in. by 1/2in. hole in lower left corner. Missing light blue outer guard stripes - very minor loss. Sides reselvaged, ends secured. Fabric backed. Supple handle, restored, ready for use.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The ancient city of Agra in north central India was the capital of the Mughal Empire and a center for carpet weaving. Imperial workshops in the city that were in operation from the early 1600s and employed highly skilled craftsmen who produced some of the most outstanding pieces of textile art in the seventeenth century. After the Persian invasion of the Mughal Empire in 1738, carpet production decreased drastically and by the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the entire industry was in jeopardy of collapsing. As Mughal power declined and imperial commissions disappeared, workshops in Agra were supported almost entirely by the British East India Company that exported Indian textiles to the west in great quantities. For more information on the arts in India during the British period, see Stuart Cary Welch, India: Art and Culture 1300-1900, New York, 1985, pp. 417-448. It was not until the late nineteenth century that the carpet industry fully recovered and a second golden age of Indian rugs began. Due to the low productivity of the workshops in the early and mid-nineteenth century, the carpet offered here is one of few to have survived from this period.  Like many carpets woven soon after the decline of the Mughal Empire, the lot offered here exhibits a design aesthetic that breaks from the Mughal tradition and looks back to earlier Persian models. Here, the large-scale overall design features palmettes, serrated leaves, and intricate vinery that are all elements found in the spiral tendril and palmette carpets of 17th century Isphahan production.  Such elements became more and more predominant in India and by the end of the 19th century they were widely used in Agra carpet design, for one example see lot 129 in this catalogue. The lot offered here is a rare example of an Indian carpet that exhibits the early sign of a major stylistic change that affected not only the workshops in Agra but the entire subcontinent.