Northwestern Persian Carpet

492 x 200 cm (16' 2" x 6' 7") Persia, early 19th century Condition: good, low pile in places, upper and lower borders restored, several small repairs, selvedges rebound Warp: wool, weft: wool, pile: wool A very impressive gallery carpet featuring a Harshang design and medallion. Against a dark blue background, the Harshang design unfolds in an elegantly serene movement, barely interrupted by any fill motifs. The term "Harshang" - Persian for "crab" - was used by Cecil Edwards in his seminal work "The Persian Carpet" on p. 49. It refers to the characteristic fork-leaf motifs, which are often depicted in white. In Caucasian carpets as well, these forms were often interpreted as animal motifs, yet they are clearly botanical representations. On our carpet, the fork-leaf motifs appear in blue and emerge from red palmettes. The rhythm of the field composition is particularly evident in the dominant yellow rosettes. At the bottom, a single rosette appears first, followed by two above it. The next single rosette is already partially hidden beneath the medallion and its pendants. It is particularly evident here that the medallion was, as it were, superimposed onto the continuous field composition. The subsequent pair of rosettes, as well as the next single rosette, are completely obscured by the medallion before the original rhythm logically resumes above it. In carpets of this type, the medallion is often positioned slightly below the exact center of the field. This should by no means be interpreted as a flaw. In these carefully designed workshop carpets, such a slight shift was likely employed deliberately to visually enliven the composition. A medallion with an almost identical design can be found in Jim Burns, "The Caucasus: Traditions in Weaving," no. 9. The carpet published there is described as a Karabagh and features a different color palette. It has a similarly elongated format; however, its field features a Herati design related to the Harshang design instead of the Harshang design. The borders of our carpet, on the other hand, are clearly in the Caucasian tradition. The main border is rendered in warm colors and features alternating stars, rosettes, and palmettes, surrounded by fork-shaped leaves - motifs from the classical Persian design canon. Estimate: € 8000 - 12000 Starting bid: € 6000

Estimate:£6,817.88

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