Central Persia, probably Isphahan
PALMETTE AND CLOUDBAND CARPET FRAGMENT
Lot. Vendu
47,500 GBP
(Prix d’adjudication avec commission acheteur)
Details & Cataloguing
Central Persia, probably Isphahan
PALMETTE AND CLOUDBAND CARPET FRAGMENT
wool, pile
stretcher: 95 by 58cm; 3ft 2in by 1ft 11in; textile visible approximately 95 by 58cm., 3ft 2in by 1ft 11in.
mid 17th century, possibly earlier
Lire le rapport d'état
Lire le rapport d'état
stretcher: 95 by 58cm; 3ft 2in by 1ft 11in; textile visible approximately 95 by 58cm., 3ft 2in by 1ft 11in.
mid 17th century, possibly earlier
Provenance
B.C. Holland Gallery, Chicago, Illinois;
Sotheby's New York, 24 April 2013, lot 220
Sotheby's New York, 24 April 2013, lot 220
Description
On the basis of Jessica Hallett’s study in Carpets and Textiles in the Iranian World 1400 – 1700, Chpt VI, ‘From the Looms of Yazd and Isfahan - Persian Carpets and Textiles in Portugal’, pp. 90 – 123, we can attribute the present lot to the second of three chronological 17th century design types. Possibly even the first and earliest, however in the absence of a border design we cannot say with certainty. Attributing any city production work to one of the various 17th century court weaving centres remains challenging and there is some disparity in the cataloguing of these Safavid courtly works. However it is largely accepted that the main production centre for these prized and expensive commodities was the city of Isphahan where Shah Abbas II (1632 – 1666) moved his court in 1643.
If we accept that a higher calibre of design and palette of colour would indicate a work from the imperial capital, the offered lot could well have originated from there. The intensity and richness of the crimson ground is beguiling and the beautiful drawing of the ‘C’ scrolls, palmettes and cloudbands, remarkable. A carpet incorporating very similar drawing of these motifs, formerly in the Corcoran collection, sold Sotheby’s New York, 5 June 2013, lot 4; in particular the large saffron palmette in the present lot is highly similar to those in the Corcoran example. Also another fragment, possibly from the same carpet, sold Sotheby's London, 28 April 2004, lot 5. This offered carpet fragment is enticing and leaves the viewer in wonder at how magnificent it would have been in its complete state, a thought-provoking and imaginative work.
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