A Bessarabian kilim, Russia, Moldova or Ukraine

illegible inscription

With scattered small slits, some at color changes and some due to surface wear and oxidation, most at one end. Oxidized dark browns. Some areas with exposed foundation due to oxidation and surface wear. Heavily soiled. Color on reverse much more vibrant and closer to original. Face should enhance greatly with cleaning. Some light color runs, mostly visible on reverse. Sides overcast, now with some losses and abrasions to selvages. One end with some fraying and small slits. Scattered restitching in areas. Secured with blanket stitch and cross stitch, now undone in areas. Upper end with most of original flatwoven finish intact. All four sides with cloth tape sewn onto reverse. Very fine weave. Sound fabric, supple handle, should enhance greatly with cleaning.
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 small vignettes including a fruit basket, rabbit and musical instruments that are depicted along the vertical axis of this kilim recall motifs that appear in the niches of Russian 'album' needlepoint carpets, for one example that also includes the coat of arms of the Gorchakov family see Sotheby's New York, 15 April 1993, lot 209, also published in Sherrill, Sarah B., Carpets and Rugs of Europe and America, New York, 1996, pl. 209.  The fine weave and saturated color of the present carpet are characteristics of early 19th century pile and flatwoven carpets from Western Russia, Moldova and the Ukraine.  In the second half of the 19th century these designs would become increasingly stylized and simplified, rendered in a more subdued color palette.  For related examples of early 19th century kilim carpets see Sotheby's New York, 12 December 1997, lot 180, a pictorial carpet dated 1846; 5 December 1987, lot 253; 3 June 1989, lot 333; 12 April 1996, lot 116; 1 April 2003, lot 165; Christie's New York, 20 May 2008, lot 326; and for a pile carpet, Sotheby's New York, 13 December 1996, lot 236.