A Khorossan saph, East Persia

Paulette Goddard Remarque, purchased from her estate in 1993

Christie's London, 27 April 1995, lot 574

Hali, vol. 1, Winter 1978, advertising section p. 7. (The Textile Gallery)

Hali, vol. 81, June/July 1995, p. 119

Woven horizontally, reduced in width at right border. Pile generally low to knotheads and foundation with numerous holes and slits, as visible in catalogue illustration. Some holes now backed with linen cloth. Small scattered reweaves and repiling. Missing outer guard stripes with some losses and fraying into outer guard borders. Supple handle, sound fabric, large variety of ever saturated color, as typical of old weavings from Eastern Persia. Please note that a license may be required to export textiles, rugs and carpets of Iranian origin from the United States. Clients should enquire with the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regarding export requirements. Pease check with the Carpet department if you are uncertain as to whether a lot is subject to this restriction or if you need assistance with such enquiries
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 attribution of this carpet to the Northeast Persian town of Khorossan comes from the extensive jufti knotting used throughout the piece. For more information on jufti knotting, see Michael Franses, "The Caucasus or North East Persia, A Question of Attribution" in Heinrich Kirchheim, Orient Stars, Stuttgart, 1993, pp. 94-100. Using this basic premise, a corpus of carpets of thirteen various design groups can be assembled, all of which share a number of similarities, such as the strikingly vivid and saturated color palette incorporating deep greens and brilliant reds and the appearance of strong and frequent diagonal lines within the design that is facilitated by the jufti knot being woven on alternating warps rather than in the usual vertical lines. The lot offered here appears to have a rather elusive design as its field populated by floating mihrab panels does not compare closely to other saphs made in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Only one other example of this design is known today after appearing in a sales catalogue of the Parisian auction house Drouot, where it was erroneously designated as Mughal, but was subsequently withdrawn from the sale. The border of the saph offered here with its less curvilinear and more angular drawing, however, is comparable to that of contemporaneous Isphahan carpets, such as the one illustrated John J. Eskenazi, Il Tappeto Orientale dal XV al XVIII Secolo, London, 1981, no. 31, with which this carpet also shares the same inner border and the jufti knotting. This carpet has been reduced along the right side and it is most probable that two fragments known are from the removed section, see, Eberhart Herrmann, Asiatische Teppiche-und Textilkunst, vol. 1, 1989, no. 72 and B. W. Robinson, et al., Islamic Art in the Keir Collection, London, 1988, no. T30, p. 82.  The saph offered here was certainly woven for a specific commission as the original indentation in the lower right corner indicates.  As suggested in Hali, June/July 1995, p.119, it was very likely produced for a small private mosque.