An Ottoman carpet, Cairo, Egypt

Pile low to knotheads overall. Repiling and Kashmir repiling from subsequent generations throughout; approximately 60% of surface. Repaired slit and small holes to left side. Lacking outer guardstripes. Ends secured with a blanket stitch. Respectable condition for age, sound fabric, restored and 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.

Carpet weaving in Cairo dates back to the age of the Mamluk Sultans, who set up workshops primarily to satisfy Western demands. A few decades after the Ottomans conquered the Mamluk Sultanate in 1517, these workshops began producing rugs and carpets for the court in Istanbul. The talent and craft of Cairene weavers was in such high regard with the Ottomans that in 1585 Sultan Murad III requested eleven master weavers and wool to be sent to Istanbul from Egypt.  Interestingly, even after the Ottoman takeover, Cairene workshops continued to produce pieces for the European market, which shows not only how hungry the West was for oriental carpets but also how financially lucrative the workshops were. Italy was the main market for these carpets, with Venice and Genoa being centers of import and distribution. Interestingly, probably due to their large size and complex design, Mamluk and Cairene carpets seldom appear in Old Master paintings.
The design of Ottoman Cairene rugs and carpets most often consists of a scrolling floral vinery lattice with rosettes, palmettes and curling saz, arched lush reed leaves that characterize late sixteenth and seventeenth-century Ottoman art. The field of the carpet offered here is populated by these saz leaves supplemented with palmettes and flower heads, and is dominated by a large medallion anchored by four quarter medallions in the corners that are woven with tulips and vines. These archetypical design elements make this lot fit well into the known corpus of large Cairene carpets. The border’s interconnected flowering palmette and cypress tree design is different from the more typical in-and-out curling leaf motif, which appears in numerous surviving Ottoman Cairene examples, including carpets in the Stefano Bardini Collection, see Alberto Boralevi, Geometrie d’Oriente: Stefano Bardini e il tappeto antico, Livorno, 1999, pp. 32-33. The border of this carpet is more closely related to a Cairene carpet sold Sotheby’s New York, December 13, 1986, lot 104. The inner and outer guard borders with their small flower heads are also typical to Ottoman Cairene rugs and can be seen in other examples such as those formerly in the Corcoran Collection and sold Sotheby’s New York, June 5, 2013, lots 1 and 2. The bicolor bifoil motif in the guard stripes can be found in a large Cairene carpet sold Sotheby’s New York, December 3, 1988, lot 341.