An Oushak Carpet, West Anatolia

Pile 2mm in areas, and down to foundation and knotbars in areas of the main field and the border; for example to the top central area of the border and in strips across the top of the top medallion. Due to losses in areas down to foundation, there are some splits and very thin areas. There are reweaves in areas across the carpet, to all colours, some smaller than others. For example the lower end of the carpet in the photograph, has rewoven area across the width of the carpet within the blue spandrels and the dark blue ground, and small area to bottom right curve of the main lower red medallion. Some of smaller reweaves and repairs are in the areas of the yellow details in the main field and the pale blue highlights and are visible on close inspection. Some of original brown details have oxidised. There is an oval shaped hole in the very centre of the carpet (approx. 5cm by 3.5cm), reinforced around the edges. There are some splits to the far edge, to the side of the yellow flatweave sidecord. Vestiges of fringes to yellow flat weave at both ends. This carpet is in need of some attention. Beautiful drawing and balanced composition.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Curvilinear forms relating to 15^th century Islamic architectural motifs, ceramic tile work and early book bindings were introduced to the repertoire of Anatolian weaving toward the end of the 15^th century, where previously carpet design had been dominated by more geometric forms. The development of large medallion Oushak carpets, woven commercially from the end of the 15th century until well into the 18^thcentury, is an excellent case study of this design revolution with many surviving examples of differing ages, quality of weave and degeneration of design allowing us to place such carpets chronologically within the three century long span of continual production.

Although surviving examples are numerous the majority are woven with blue medallions on red grounds with blue ground carpets such as this one being more rare. Well known blue ground examples include the Chevalier large-medallion Oushak carpet in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (Suriano, Carlo Maria, “Oak Leaves and Arabesques”, Hali, Issue 106, No.3., pg.107), the Cassirer Oushak medallion carpet from the collection of Baroness Gabrielle Bentinck-Thyssen (sold at Sotheby’s London, April 24, 1996, lot 253), a fragment from the David Sylvester Collection (sold at Sotheby’s London, February 26, 2002, lot 102) and the Stroganoff Oushak carpet from the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg (Suriano, op.cit., p. 110, no. 9). All of the above mentioned examples are dated to the first half of the 16^th century and earlier and as with the present lot they display well drawn and well-spaced medallions and floral interlace. Unlike the present lot with its ragged palmette design border they all display Kufic borders (apart from the Sylvester fragment which is lacking all borders), which is generally considered to be the earliest of all main border patterns found in this group of carpets. However, one carpet consistently dated 1500-1510, the `Grassi’ large-medallion Oushak carpet has a variant border, Kufesque at the top end and with a ragged palmette and floral vine border on the remaining three sides, therefore bridging the design gap between the earliest manifestation of the blue ground carpets and the lot offered here, see Spuhler, Friedrich, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection: Carpets and Textiles, London, 1988, Chp. 3, Classical Carpets of Persia, Grassi carpet, No.6, pp.44-45, and another very similar carpet, No.8,pp.50-51, provenance Baroness Maximiliane Berg, Schloss Schwarzenegg) (Beattie, May H., The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection of Oriental Rugs, Ticino, 1972, pp.99-103.). The present example also differs by displaying two main medallions rather than the more typical centralised format seen elsewhere, placing it closer to a `two medallion’ carpet in the al Sabah Collection, Kuwait (Jenkins, Marilyn, Islamic Art in the Kuwait National Museum, London, 1983, pg.146). In both instances the medallions have lost the roundness of the single medallion carpets and are becoming ovoid, with the al Sabah medallions attenuated on a vertical axis and the present example tapering on the horizontal. For a comparable `two medallion’ example at auction, dated to the early 17^th century, see Sotheby’s, New York, 3^rd December 2002, lot 62.