An Isphahan carpet, Central Persia

Collection of the Fourth Duke of Lafões, Caetano Segismundo de Bragança (1856-1927) 
Vitall Benguiat, New York

Washington, D.C., Corcoran Gallery of Art, Carpets for the Great Shah, October 3 - November 16, 1948
Washington D.C., Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, The World at our Feet.  A Selection of Carpets from the Corcoran Gallery of Art, April 4 - July 6, 2003
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. 74
"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, p. 15
"The Senator's Carpets," Hali, issue 127, pl. 41, fig. 2 (detail)
Franses, Michael, "Classical Context," Hali, issue 129, pp. 68-69, fig. 5
Hallett, Jessica, "From the Looms of Yazd and Isfahan: Persian Carpets and Textiles in Portugal," Carpets and Textiles in the Iranian World 1400-1700, Oxford, 2010, fig. 14, pp. 114-115

Pile generally good, approximately 1/8 inch for majority of carpet. Oxidized browns in areas. 9 x 9 inch reweave in upper left corner. 7 x 2 inch L-shaped repaired slit near center. 22 x 5 inch reweave on lower left side of field. 6 x 1-1/2 inch reweave on upper edge. Minor scattered spot stains. Scattered repiled moth damage in lower end of carpet, and in upper left corner. Partial side guard stripes. Missing end guard stripes. Minor losses to end guardborders. Overcast on all 4 sides. A long 4-1/2 feet repaired slit, lower right border. Very flexible handle. Lustrous wool. Unusually good condition for age. 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.

This magnificent carpet was one of many that Senator William A. Clark purchased from Vitall Benguiat, the legendary dealer known as "The Pasha,"  see Wesley Towner, "The Pasha and the Magic Carpets; The story of Vitall Benguiat," Hali, vol. II, no. 3, pp. 183-191.  Benguiat appears to have been quite a character, largely self-educated, with a deep passion for textiles and carpets, a good eye and boundless energy.  Having come to the United States initially at the behest of the architect Stanford White in 1898, Benguiat went on to become the purveyor of fine carpets to tycoons such as J. P. Morgan, Henry Clay Frick, Henry Walters, Joseph E. Widener and Horace Havemeyer, although "no one attempted to compete with Senator William Clark, 'the richest man west of the Mississippi', whose Indo-Isphahans and velvets were believed to have cost him $3,000,000," ibid, p. 191.   Benguiat travelled to Europe on a regular basis in search of works of art for his American clients, with Portugal being a source for 'Indo-Isphahan' carpets.  It is in Portugal that he purchased the present lot as well as the pair of 'Braganza' carpets which descended through the Bragancas, the royal family of Portugal.   The pair of 'Braganza' carpets were sold by Benguiat through the American Art Association, December 4-5, 1925, lots 71 and 72 with the first now in a private collection, formerly in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, see Friedrich Spuhler, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection: Carpets and Textiles, London, 1998, pl. 22 and the second once in the collection of Mrs Edsel B. Ford, eventually sold Christie's London, 22 April 1999, lot 101.  Three other Isphahan carpets that Benguiat purchased from the Fourth Duke of Lafões were also sold to Senator Clark, see Christie's New York, November 24, 2009, lots 29, 129 and 133.

The unusually large size and long, narrow dimensions of this carpet denote that it was commissioned for a specific and very grand space. While the design elements are typical to Safavid Isphahan carpets, the configurations of curving lancet leaves into a Western armorial shape at either end of the field point to this carpet being commissioned by a European noble or royal patron.  In this instance, the carpet descended through the Dukes of Lafões, a title that was created in 1718 by King Joao V of Portugal (r. 1707-50) for the illegitimate descendants of his father, King Pedro II (r. 1683-1706).  The first Duke of Lafões was Joao V's nephew, Pedro Henrique de Braganca (1718-61), and it is more likely that he acquired the carpet than commissioned it, as it is most similar to Isphahan carpets dated to the 17th century featuring curling lancet leaves in the field and border designs.  Related carpets include another still in Portugal, see Jessica Hallett, "From the Looms of Yazd and Isfahan, Persian Carpets and Textiles in Portugal," Carpets and Textiles in the Iranian World 1400-1700, Oxford 2010, p. 108, fig. 9 from the Convent de Lourical now in the Museo Naçional de Machado Castro, Coimbra, and one from the Benjamin Altman collection now in the Metropolitan Musem of Art, see M.S. Dimand and Jean Mailey, Oriental Rugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1973, cat. no. 30, fig. 99, pp. 70 and 107.   

 Hallett, op.cit. p.106-110 proposes a chronology for Isphahan spiral-vine and palmette carpets based on structure and design types.  Group 1 are the earliest and are those having a part silk foundation; groups 2, 3 and 4 have all cotton foundations and designs progressing from vines, palmettes and cloudbands (group 2), to which are added curling lancet leaves (group 3), and culminating in group 4 with 'quatrefoil' arabesque field patterns and cypress trees in the border.  The first group are from the late 16th/early 17th century with groups 2, 3 and 4 following through the 17th century and into the early 18th century.  As she places The Lafões Carpet in the third group she dates it to the late 17th/early 18th century.   The intricate border to this carpet is unusual and found on a few carpets dated by scholars to the 17th century, including the two mentioned above, another carpet from the Clark collection, sold Christie's New York, November 24, 2009, lot 129; a fragment in the Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait, see Friedrich Spuhler, Carpets from Islamic Lands, Kuwait, 2012, cat. 22, pp. 102-3; a fragmentary carpet sold V. & L. Benguiat Collection, American Art Association, New York, December 4-5, 1925, lot 35; and a carpet once in the collection of J. Paul Getty, sold Sotheby’s New York, September 24, 1991, lot 239.

Prior to entering into the collection of the Duke of Lafões, this carpet may have been in the collection of the royal family or another Portuguese aristocrat.   It is enticing to speculate that it may have been one of the "140 carpets of such extraordinary magnificence..." that covered the pavement at the 1669 baptism of Isabel Louisa, daughter of future King Pedro II, for the quote see Viterbo, F.M., Artes e Artistas em Portugal, Lisbon, 1920 sited in Hallett, op.cit., p. 115.  The scale of the design elements and their elegant rendering in this carpet are perfectly balanced as they are mirrored end to end.  The cloudbands are both intricately drawn and robust in character; the palmettes and leaves are lushly feathered and all are woven in complex color juxtapositions to create a carpet suitable for the sumptuous space, if not palace, for which it was commissioned.    Senator Clark decorated a large painting gallery in his New York mansion with this carpet, however, its remarkable condition suggests that this was a gallery reserved for only the most exclusive guests.

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.