An Isphahan carpet, Central Persia

reduced in length

Vitall Benguiat, New York

Washington, D.C., Corcoran Gallery of Art, Carpets for the Great Shah, October 3 - November 16, 1948
Washington, D.C., Corcoran Gallery of Art, Masterpieces: European Arts from the Collection, August 25, 2007 - April 15, 2008

The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Illustrated Handbook of The W. A. Clark Collection, The Corcoran Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C.: W. F. Roberts Company, 1928, p. 73
"Carpets for the Great Shah: The Near-Eastern Carpets from the W. A. Clark Collection," The Corcoran Gallery of Art Bulletin, Washington, D.C., Vol. 2, No. 1, October 1948, pp. 9 and 12

Reduced in length with upper end border rewoven. Pile ranges from closely shorn 1/10 inch in small areas of border generally low to knotheads and foundation overall. Dark browns oxidized to foundation. Some dark browns repiled in ivory. Further scattered repiling. Reweaves in lower left center---largest approximately 1 foot by 3 inches with smaller reweaves nearby. Smaller scattered reweaves. Some tinting and Kashmir repiling to field. All four sides missing outer guard stripes and part of guard border. All four sides overcast. Velcro strip sewn on reverse along right side. Flexible handle, sound fabric, unusual border, elegant field design. 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. Please check with the Carpet department if you are uncertain as to whether a lot is subject to this restriction or if you need assistance.
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.

Compartment-design borders can be found in carpets and rugs produced at weaving centers across the Islamic world; variations of this motif appear in ‘Transylvanian’ rugs, Indian works, such as lot 24 in this sale, Mamluk carpets from Egypt, ‘Chessboard’ carpets from Damascus and weavings from different cities across central and eastern Persia, including Kashan, Isphahan and Herat. The cartouche, or ‘compass-and-rule,’ border of this carpet is a type of compartment-design and is here filled with palmettes and accented by cloud bands similarly to lot 23 in this sale. The most celebrated carpet with a cartouche compartment-design border is without doubt the Ardebil carpet in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In most cases the cartouches are filled with palmettes, flowers and blossoms, but in some rare instances they are decorated with animal figures, such as in the Béarn hunting carpet in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection. The easily-recognizable cartouche border originates in early fifteenth-century manuscript illumination in Herat. During the 1400s, this design motif became widely used in other parts of Persia and eventually conquered other media, including rugs and carpets. The manuscript prototype of this design was made up of gilt and ivory outlines filled in with different colors and accented by calligraphy, animals, flowers and cloud bands, the way it is executed in the present carpet and lot 23. As discussed above and in the note for lot 24 in this sale, this design became popular outside of Persia, particularly in parts of the world conquered by the Safavid Shahs. The cartouche border was also adapted as a field design motif, such as in the case of an Isphahan floral compartment rug in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, see M. S. Dimand and Jean Mailey, Oriental Rugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1973, p. 75, and the overall trellis pattern can also be traced to the ‘compass-and-rule’ configuration.

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. Please check with the Carpet department if you are uncertain as to whether a lot is subject to this restriction or if you need assistance.