A Kirman pictorial carpet, Southeast Persia, circa 1895

Inscriptions

The inscription in the centre of the upper border reading: Sefaresh-e aqa-ye mohammad reza khan/dar karkhane-ye ostad ‘ali kermani

‘Order of Mr Muhammad Reza Khan in the workshop of Master (ostad) ‘Ali Kermani’

The inscription cartouches in the upper border note that this carpet was commissioned by Muhammed Reza Khan and was woven in the workshop of the Master, 'Ali Kirmani. This may refer to Muhammad-Reza Khan Sardar-e Fateh, the ninth son of Emamqoli Khan, known as Haji Ilkani, and the father of Sapur Baktiar (b.1914), the last prime minister of Mohammed-Reza Shah Pahlavi, (Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol.III, New York, 2000, p.549).

‘Ali Kermani (1294-1319/1877-1901), later titled ‘Ali Honari is recorded as one of the most skilled carpet weavers of Kerman and can be considered the best of the late Qajar period. He was a pupil of Abu’l-Qasim Kermani and cooperated with Hasan Khan Shahrokhi who designed most of ‘Ali Kermani’s carpets, although he is not recorded as the cartoonist for this carpet (Maloul 1396 SH).

Hasan Khan Shahrokhi (d. 1950), known as Hasan Khan, the painter, is one of the most famous carpet designers of Iran, who created a new style. He is also recorded as a painter of pen boxes and an illuminator. His recorded work includes those that depict pre-Islamic Iranian kings and rulers of the world. For an example of a ‘Rulers of the World’ carpet, please see lot 172. It is conceivable the ‘Rulers of the World’ concept was inspired by the World’s Columbian Exposition carpets with their multiple portraits (Maloul 1396 SH).

Almost exactly 130 years ago - on 1st May 1893 - the World’s Columbian Exposition was opened in Chicago by President Glover Cleveland. The Fair, held in Jackson Park, was centred on a large lake representing the voyage Columbus took to the New World. It covered 690 acres (2.8 km²), and featured nearly 200 mainly temporary structures primarily in Beaux-Arts style, canals and lagoons, and national pavilions representing people and cultures from 46 countries, exceeding in scale and ambition any other previous World Fair. More than 27 million people attended the exposition during its six-month run, setting a world record for attendance at an outdoor event on October 9, 1893, ‘Chicago Day’, with 751,026 visitors. The many foreign visitors to the fair included the Persian traveller Mirza Mohammad Ali Mo'in ol-Saltaneh who left Persia on 20th April, 1892 with the specific intention of visiting the Fair and wrote a vivid and detailed account of his visit (Muʿin al-Salṭana, 1363/1984). Several foodstuffs were introduced for the first time at the fair, including Juicy Fruit Gum, Shredded Wheat Cereal and Brownies. Attractions included the original Ferris Wheel, built by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., which was 264 feet high, life-size reproductions of Christopher Columbus' three ships, the Santa Clara, the Pinta, and the Santa María built in Spain and sailed across the Atlantic, and from Norway, the Viking, a replica of the Gokstad ship, which was also sailed across to the Exposition from Bergen, with a crew of 12 men. These ships, the Ferris wheel (in the top centre of the field) and many of the national pavilions are represented here in delightful detail, along with other marvels such as the moving sidewalk along the Grand Wharf which projects into the lagoon in the lower part of the field. Various important dignitaries are depicted amongst the pavilions, whilst the border has roundels with alternating portraits of President Glover Cleveland and of Naser al-Din Shah, between cartouches depicting a classical Persian bridge in a landscape. Guidebooks which included depictions of each of the pavilions, such as the Rand McNally & Co’s Advance Guide to the World’s Columbian Exposition, published in 1893, photographs, postcards and maps were all produced to publicise the fair and its myriad exhibits. The main image of the waterfront appears to have been based on the ‘Bird’s Eye View of Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition’ also published by Rand McNally & Co., whilst the various images of the pavilions may have been taken from their guidebook, op.cit.

For another example from the same cartoon in this sale, please see lot 146.

Comparable examples previously sold at auction include Christies 16th April, 2007, lot 33; 7th October 2010, lot 183; 8th April 2014, lot 5.