A Caucasian "dragon" carpet

Crocker Family

Pile generally low 2 knot heads throughout. Scattered large now faded reweaves, as visible in catalogue illustration. Some small scattered holes. The largest two to upper right corner, approximately 26 inches x 39 inches. Further smaller scattered weavings, not all as faded as larger ones. Few small patches, not extensive. Scattered restitched holes and some repaired small slits. Sides missing out guard borders and guard stripes. Now resalvaged. Overcasting with losses and abrasions and fraying. Both ends with mostly rewoven guardborders. Upper end with applied flatwoven finish. Supple handle. Original areas in generally good stable condition, with good colors.
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.

The design of ‘Dragon’ carpets consists of a field pattern composed of pointed, serrated leaves forming intersecting lozenges, which alternately contain palmettes and dragons or stylized animal figures. The most archaic of the ‘Dragon’ carpets include dragon motifs with birds and running animals relatively naturalistically drawn and either alone or in confronting pairs facing a tree. The Graf carpet, originally found in a Damascene mosque, now in the Islamiches Museum, Berlin, is thought to be the oldest example of this type, see Serare Yetkin, Early Caucasian Carpets in Turkey, Vol. II, London, 1978, p. 8, fig. 118. Animals in combat, and dragons less frequently, were popular motifs in late sixteenth and early seventeenth-century Persian courtly carpets and it is probable that Caucasian ‘Dragon’ carpets were modelled on these refined prototypes. 

Yetkin defines four types of 'Dragon' carpet: 'Archaic,' ‘Four-Dragon’, ‘Dragon and Phoenix’ and as a further combined development of the latter, the ‘Two-Dragon’ style. With its alternate rows of four lozenges containing a dragon figure, the present lot belongs to the 'Four-Dragon' group, whereas lot 160 is a 'Dragon and Phoenix' type. The carpet offered here is generally more angular and stylized in its drawing and representation of dragons, while lot 160 is more naturalistic and closer to the earlier 'Archaic' types, suggesting that the present carpet is slightly younger than lot 160.