A Safavid 'Vase' Carpet, Southeast Persia

size adjusted

Pile:               Wool, Z spun 2Sw plied
Knotting:       Asymmetric, open to the left, 5/cm horizontally, 5/cm vertically
Warps:          Cotton, natural, Z spun, 6S plied, depressed
Wefts:            Cotton, natural, Z spun 2Sw plied
Sidecords
and Ends:    not original, later rebinding apricot wool
Colours:       Ivory, pale Chinese yellow, golden yellow, light apricot, umber, crimson, pale apple green, bright green, fir green, acqua blue, cobalt, ultramarine and walnut (13 colours)

Property of a Private Collector;
Sold Sotheby's London, 6th April, 2011, Lot 467

Cut and reduced in the length, across the junction of guard and field at upper end. With stepped cut across the corner of the border. Edges and sides all rebound. Pile evenly low. Crimson field oxidised and spot foundation is visible throughout. Some old restorations to reds throughout. Tinting. Some small cobbled repairs, for example lower right hand corner. Upper corners slightly angled. We would recommend inspection. EMBARGO ON IMPORTATION OF PERSIAN/IRANIAN WORKS OF ART TO THE USA. Due to recent changes in the U.S. law, carpets and rugs of Iranian/Persian origin can no longer be imported into the U.S. Please check with the sale administrator if you are uncertain as to whether a lot is subject to these or any other restrictions or if you need assistance with such enquiries.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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."

Traditionally attributed to Kirman in Southeast Persia, the archetypal carpets for which this group are named are decorated with a three-plane lattice bearing polychrome palmettes, flowerheads and flowering plants, and stylised Chinese vases.  Common structural  characteristics link the group: examples with two-plane lattices, for example that sold Sotheby's London, 6 April 2011, lot 456 , in which the arabesques and shrubs are counterpointed; single-plane latticework, such as the example offered here, in which the shrubs form the main motif of the design, and unusual variants such as the leaf lattice example sold Christies London, lot 100, 15^th April 2010 are therefore all  included in the category. 

Within the group of single plane lattice carpets offered at auction the finest is the Lady Dudley shrub carpet sold Sotheby's London, lot 706, 11^th October 1990, in which the shrubs are enclosed in an elegantly curvilinear lattice of blue and yellow arabesques.  Later examples employ a simpler trelliswork to enclose the various shrubs; a dated example of this simplified version of the design is the single lattice carpet in the Iran Bastan Museum in Teheran which is signed by 'Ustad Muhammad Sharif Kirmani' and dated AH 1172 (1758-9 AD); for other examples also with a simplified trelliswork, please see Beattie, May H.: Carpets of Central Persia ,  Westerham, 1976, no.57, pp.80-81 and Pope, Arthur Upham: A Survey of Persian Art, Oxford, 1938, pl.1241.   The lot offered here, with its angular lobed outlines to the cartouches formed of stylised bi-coloured arabesques offers a transitional view of the design, midway between the Lady Dudley carpet and the dated example cited above.  The border design is paralleled in other 'vase' carpets, both of the single-plane lattice type (see Beattie: op.cit, pp.80-81, no.56) and the eponymous three-plane lattice group, see Klose, Christine, Betrachtungen zu nordwestpersischen Gartenteppichen des 18. Jahrhunderts' HALI, vol. 1, no.2, Summer 1978, pl.8, p.118. and Benguiat sale, American Art Association, New York, 19-22 November 1922, lot 735.

 

EMBARGO ON IMPORTATION OF PERSIAN/IRANIAN WORKS OF ART TO THE USA.
Due to recent changes in the U.S. law, carpets and rugs of Iranian/Persian origin can no longer be imported into the U.S.

Please check with the sale administrator if you are uncertain as to whether a lot is subject to these or any other restrictions or if you need assistance with such enquiries.