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Masterpieces III There are 40 Lots.
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Startpreis / Startingbid
15 000 €Lot: 21
Early Karapinar203 x 144 cm (6' 8" x 4' 9")
Turkey, 16th century
Condition: consistent with age, low pile, incomplete around the edges, some old restorations and reweavings
Provenance: Roland Weise Collection
Published: "Weise Collection - Ambassadors from the Orient", 2019, p. 16, and "From Anatolia to India, ICOC Catalog", Helmut Eberhart, 2014, plate 15
Warp: wool, weft: wool, pile: wool
This impressive and rare rug signals its affinity with more urban works, which it reinterprets confidently and powerfully.
The red field with blue spandrels is reminiscent of double-niche Ushaks with small medallions, such as plate 83 in McMullan, "Islamic Carpets", 1965. However, the medallion is much larger, dominant, and drawn with pendants.
A simplified interpretation is shown in McMullan on plate 109. This probably comes from Karapinar and broadens the field of possible comparisons. The medallion of our carpet represents an abstract version of the famous Karapinar-Bernheimer carpet. See Bernheimer, "Alte Teppiche des 16. bis 18. Jahrhunderts" (Old Carpets of the 16th to 18th Centuries), Munich 1959, image 18, or Hali 86, page 134, and then, after the removal of the restorations, Hali 166, page 42.
The soft style of the design of this carpet is associated with Ottoman kilims. This brings us to plate 33 in "Belkis Balpinar" /
Udo Hirsch, "Carpets in the Vak?flar Museum," where not only the medallion but also the border echoes our piece.
Another interesting comparison can be found in "Turkish Carpets from the 13th to 18th Centuries," Ertug, plate 100.
This carpet also features a medallion and pendants, as well as a cartouche border and soft design, but is significantly more densely woven.
An Ushak with a large medallion and pendants: Sotheby's New York, December 14, 2006, lot 161, Hali 151, page 159.
The design survived well into the 19th century in a simplified form, Rippon Boswell, November 26, 2011, lot 32, and almost identically in the same house, A 79, lot 32.
Estimate: € 30000 - 4000015 000 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
15 000 €Lot: 22
Early West Anatolian "Double-Keyhole" Rug188 x 155 cm (6' 2" x 5' 1")
Turkey, 17th century
Condition: good for its age, low pile, incomplete around the edges, some small restorations
Provenance: Roland Weise Collection
Published: "Weise Collection - Ambassadors from the Orient", 2019, p. 16, and "From Anatolia to India, ICOC Catalog", Helmut Eberhart, 2014, plate 8
Warp: wool, weft: wool, pile: wool
Only four other examples of this remarkable carpet are known to exist. The first publication of one such example can be found in Hali 5/2 on page 168. The famous dealer Davide Halevim exhibited it at the Venice Biennale in 1982. Seventeen years later, this piece was shown by David Sorgato at ICOC IX in Milan, Hali 105, page 157.
A second example is published in the ICOC VIII catalog, "Oriental Rugs from Atlantic Collections", on plate 58. There, among other theories, a connection with the "Re-Entry" carpets is already pointed out. A third carpet then appeared at Sotheby's in London, Hali 93, page 125, which sold for £14,950. These three pieces differ only in minor details from the present example. A final example, which had a stiffer design and in which the octagonal shapes disappeared, was auctioned at Rippon Boswell in 2006 for €18,000. See catalog 67, no. 25, and Hali 148, page 111.
Re-entrant carpets, also known as keyhole or Bellini carpets, which are related to our small group, feature the eponymous octagonal keyhole shapes at one or both ends. As early as 1493, Cima da Conegliano painted such a carpet in his painting "Madonna and Child", which can still be found today in the cathedral of his hometown. Francesco da Ponte (1475 - 1539) also depicts such a piece in a painting from 1519. For comparable carpets, see McMullan, "Islamic Carpets", 1965, plates 100 and 101, and Ertug, "Turkish Carpets from the 13th - 18th Centuries," 1996, plate 131 ff.
A detailed treatise on Bellini carpets by John Mills can be found in Hali 58 on pages 86 ff.
The carpets of the 15th and 16th centuries often feature the "ragged leaf and palmette" border, whereas the cross-shaped border seems to be unique to our small group and otherwise appears in the Ghirlandaio carpets.
Estimate: € 30000 - 4000015 000 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
15 000 €Lot: 23
Salor Torba140 x 63 cm (4' 7" x 2' 1")
Turkmenistan, early 19th century
Condition: very good, mostly good pile, minimal professional restoration
Warp: wool, weft: wool, pile: wool with silk highlights
The name given to the design by the Turkmen is 'kejebe', since the design is reminiscent of the bride's wedding litter that sits atop a camel during the wedding ceremony. Although this torba is not directly related to this ceremony, the exceptional quality of the dyes and weaving indeed places it at the same level as the most highly prized and prestigious weavings associated with the wedding.
The variety and clarity of the colours are exceptional, in particular the range of colours achieved from indigo. Furthermore, the ratio between vertical and horizontal knots has created design elements that are both tall and elegant, whilst also possessing real breadth.
This torba also features a number of unusual elements. Firstly, the four complete gols displayed across the width of the field put this in the smallest group of this design type. The tall forms within the arches have three-stepped triangular forms on their sides as opposed to arms, and the top and bottom reserves within which the Memling gul form sits have small white hooks - all unusual features.
It is interesting to note, particularly on Salor weavings, that the most telling characteristic of the overall quality of the weaving is often the articulation of the borders and the top and bottom decorative panels. This example is a case in point, with both of these areas being fully indicative of the overall quality of the weaving.
Estimate: € 25000 - 3500015 000 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
7 000 €Lot: 24
Salor Trapping139 x 52 cm (4' 7" x 1' 8")
Turkmenistan, early 19th century
Condition: good according to age, mostly good pile, corroded silk highlights, some damages and tears at upper end, scattered small repairs, signs of use
Published: "Gewebt und geknüpft V, die Pracht der Saloren", Georg Butterweck, 2013, plate 21
and "Textil Kunst Feuer, Teppiche und Textilien aus österreichischen Privatsammlungen", TKF 2002, plate 70/2
Warp: wool, weft: wool, pile: wool with silk highlights
Estimate: € 10000 - 150007 000 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
5 000 €Lot: 25
Karadashli Main Carpet276 x 175 cm (9' 1" x 5' 9")
Turkmenistan, first half 19th century
Condition: good, pile low in places, several small repairs, selvages rebound
Warp: wool, weft: wool and cotton, pile: wool
The clear colours, the spacing and proportion of the güls, and the drawing within the dyrnak güls and elem designs highlight the remarkable high quality of this carpet. One of the two types of dyrnak gül is arguably the oldest version of this design element. Although the gül is divided into quarters by its background colours, the internal design elements occupy the full height of the gül rather than being bisected into sections.
This is also seen in a carpet illustrated by Rageth in his groundbreaking study, "Turkmen Carpets: A New Perspective (2016)",
as plate 105, which has a clear radiocarbon dating of 1493 - 1660 (290 ± 30 BP). The elem design, featuring plants with large branches of blossoms, is uniquely attractive and invites comparison with similar forms found on the elems of a group of Eagle gül chuvals.
Estimate: € 8000 - 120005 000 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
5 000 €Lot: 26
Yellow-Ground Kuba Prayer Rug140 x 102 cm (4' 7" x 3' 4")
Caucasus, mid 19th century or before
Condition: good, pile low in places, several professional restorations
Provenance: Roland Weise Collection
Published: "Weise Collection - Ambassadors from the Orient", 2019, p. 27
Warp: wool, weft: cotton, pile: wool
A wonderful little prayer rug with excellent colors and a rare pattern. In Ralph Kaffel's seminal book "Caucasian Prayer Rugs", 1998, there is only one other example with this field design. That rug has a white background, and the palmettes and flowering shrubs are lined up like soldiers and appear somewhat stiff. In our rug, on the other hand, a summer breeze seems to have blown everything around in the most charming way.
We are actually only aware of one other directly comparable rug, published in "Seltene Orientteppiche V" (Rare Oriental Rugs V) as No. 25 by Eberhart Herrmann. This rug shows a somewhat orderly field in a loose manner and in light pastel colors.
It has the same borders, but without the outer one. Herrmann refers to border designs that are otherwise frequently seen in color on Caucasian carpets, as in piece no. 24 in the same catalog.
Although the dark flower on a white background looks slightly different than in the colored version, the connection is clear. Herrmann links the rare field design with early Caucasian carpets, as in Yetkin, "Early Caucasian Carpets," Nos. 40, 53, 58, 61. In this context, however, intermediate stages should also be mentioned, such as three pieces in Schürmann's
"Kaukasische Teppiche" (Caucasian Carpets), numbers 6, 94, and perhaps also No. 128, and used for comparison.
Last but not least, there is a remarkable carpet shown by Emil Mirzakhanian at the Milan Antiquariato (Hali 64, page 172), which was described as Kuba and dated to the 18th or early 19th century. An extremely wild, eccentric prayer rug with this design was advertised by Bausback in Hali 6/4, Gallery 6. Only a thin crenellated border surrounds the field, and an inverted 'U' is inserted at the top to mark the prayer niche.
Estimate: € 10000 - 150005 000 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
7 000 €Lot: 27
Early Shirvan Fragment113 x 150 cm (3' 8" x 4' 11")
Caucasus, 18th century or before
Condition: fragment, sewn onto fabric
Provenance: Roland Weise Collection
Published: "Ghereh", No. 28, p. 57
Warp: wool, weft: cotton, pile: wool
This enigmatic fragment combines a wide variety of influences in a unique composition. It brings to mind both the "Golden Triangle" group, excellently described by Alberto Levi in Hali 214, page 100 ff., and the so-called "Shield Carpets" from the Caucasus. However, the association with the shield carpet mainly refers to the position of the main motifs with the white leaf shapes growing out of the space between them, which also brings to mind the white big cats on Kirchheim's animal carpet No. 81 in "Orient Stars."
However, the internal design of the shields deviates from the classic pattern. In their seminal article on "Shield Carpets" in Hali 1/1, Robert Pinner and Michael Franses also presented several pieces related to shield carpets, including the well-known white-ground Armenian carpet No. 6 from Ulrich Schürmann.
In addition, one should consult Eder's "Caucasian Carpets" and compare the later Kuba on page 302. The border of our fragment goes back to classic Persian carpets. The style of representation and the colors of the piece lead us back to the "Golden Triangle" group, named after an imaginary area located between the spheres of influence of Turkey, the Caucasus, and Persia. This wonderful fragment is an important contribution to the history of carpet art in the Caucasus and neighboring areas and will stimulate detailed discussions among collectors.
Estimate: € 12000 - 160007 000 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
2 000 €Lot: 28
Early Kuba Fragment147 x 113 cm (4' 10" x 3' 8")
Caucasus, late 18th century
Condition: Fragment, some holes and missing areas, moth damage, sewn onto fabric
Warp: wool, weft: wool, pile: wool
This fragment is from the lower right-hand corner of a grand Caucasian carpet from the late 18th century. It offers an ideal snapshot of the Harshang design, a design from the classical carpet canon that was arguably best expressed in 18th and early 19th-century Caucasian carpets. The carpets from the Kuba region are well known for their strong color contrasts and also have the perfect vertical-to-horizontal knot ratio to allow weavers to add space to all aspects of the repeat design unit, as well as create large blocks of color and emphasize the flaming edges of the palmettes.
The scale of the design elements on this fragment, which is just over half of the width of the carpet, suggests that this would have been a large, boldly graphic carpet in its complete form. Grand red examples from this period are unusual, and of particular note is the way that each design element is fully formed and clearly drawn, and that the balance between the energetic field and the gentle rhythm of the relatively small borders is well executed.
Estimate: € 4000 - 60002 000 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
15 000 €Lot: 29
Pinwheel Kazak249 x 170 cm (8' 2" x 5' 7")
Caucasus, ca. 1870
Condition: very good, good pile, corroded dark brown, scattered small professional restorations
Published: HALI No. 141, 2005, p. 94 and HALI 1/2, advertised in 1978 by F.J. Hakimian
Warp: wool, weft: wool, pile: wool
Pinwheel Kazaks are among the absolute classics of Caucasian carpets. They were and remain extremely sought after, as demonstrated by the recent sale price of $75,000 in Boston. The piece offered there is less precisely drawn than the present example. The basic design of these carpets was well-established in the 19th century; Differences in the quality of the individual pieces lie primarily in the workmanship, the colors, and the wool used.
Our rug is almost perfectly designed and has a restrained elegance. No distracting additional motifs interfere with the view of the essentials. Some weavings of this type appear somewhat gloomy, especially those in blue and red; here, too, the special quality of our example is evident. A light green in the cartouches highlights the motifs, and the generous use of orange-yellow underscores the friendly atmosphere.
A very interesting rug from the 18th century, which represents an important step in design development, was auctioned at Rippon Boswell on May 17, 2003 (lot 94). It features a large number of pinwheels spread across the field and cut on all sides. This suggests an infinite repeat, which was apparently no longer fully intended in later carpets due to the narrow red dividing line next to the cut pinwheels. Even earlier Azerbaijani embroideries complete the design development; tiles in the Rüstem Pasha Mosque in Istanbul also show floral swastika shapes. See Herrmann, "ATT 4", plate 17, and Bausback,
"Islamic Embroidery".
Estimate: € 28000 - 3500015 000 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
5 000 €Lot: 30
Dragon Soumak268 x 220 cm (8' 10" x 7' 3")
Caucasus, dated 1283 (1865)
Condition: used, several abrasions, corroded dark brown, several small holes, sides and ends partially damaged, several small old repairs, signs of use
Warp: wool, weft: wool
It is easy to be misled and interpret the powerful white and green shapes as outstretched dragon arms and the red-yellow shape enclosed by them as the dragon's head. However, from the design development of these iconic pieces, we know that these are lanceolate leaves and that the dragons have evolved into the four accompanying yellow secondary shapes.
The dragons in the carpets of the 17th and 18th centuries also show this, mostly in yellow. The design was quite stable in the 19th century, as we can see from the relatively large number of dated pieces. However, the borders can vary greatly. In our piece, it is very complex and elaborately drawn, showing an octagon and a kind of arrow cross on a black background.
In the field, the weaver shows that she had a fear of emptiness - the so-called "horror vacui." This principle goes back to Aristotle, who said that nature abhors emptiness. A plethora of small to tiny filling motifs cover the field and represent the weaver's conscious universe.
The actual design has been handed down and is depicted in accordance with tradition, but the weaver reveals her own world in the details. We find two- and four-legged animals, flowers, infinite knots and, with a little imagination, perhaps two horsemen on the left and right under the central lanceolate leaves.
At the end of the 19th century, the color palette of soumaks was reduced to mainly red and blue; that is why collectors seek pieces with greater colorfulness that contain a warm yellow and a strong green - as in our example.
Estimate: € 8000 - 120005 000 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
4 000 €Lot: 31
Transcaucasian "Golden Triangle" Carpet370 x 182 cm (12' 2" x 6')
Caucasus, ca. 1800
Condition: good, pile low in places, several small old repairs, selvages rebound, signs of use
Warp: wool, weft: wool, pile: wool
A unique carpet that is unparalleled. This design of the field could be described as unique, were it not for the fact that we know of another example, the current whereabouts of which cannot be determined. This confirms Michael Franses' statement that there are no unique carpets: if we believe this, then we simply have not yet found the parallel pieces.
An oversized medallion covers the ground, and the attached medallions drift toward the borders, connected only by a narrow red line. The center features cloud bands, as we also find in a carpet in Hali 214, page 106. In his fundamental articles, Alberto Levi notes that this form of central motif also appears on later cloud band Kazaks and Bakhshaish examples.
The floral latticework can also be associated with 19th-century Persian carpets. It features numerous filler motifs such as S-shapes, stars, and others that presumably represent animals. The red corners feature a wide variety of hook shapes that seem to dance wildly, yet follow a system. This playful representation counteracts the stricter floral pattern on a blue background in an excellent way. The hook fields are reminiscent of Anatolian carpets, as are the two white-ground medallions, albeit in a more orderly form. The narrow main border, in contrast, is reminiscent of dragon carpets. An expressive, enigmatic carpet that is sure to spark much discussion.
Estimate: € 8000 - 120004 000 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
3 000 €Lot: 32
Early Northwest Persian Carpet Fragment187 x 207 cm (6' 2" x 6' 9")
Persia, 18th century
Condition: fragment, pile low in places, scattered small repairs, clear signs of use
Provenance: Roland Weise Collection
Warp: wool, weft: wool, pile: wool
The group of enigmatic and difficult-to-classify carpets from the so-called "Golden Triangle" has become more prominent in the minds of carpet collectors and researchers in recent years. This is partly due to the sale of the Jim Dixon Collection in the US and partly to the seminal article by Alberto Levi in Hali 214, page 100 ff.
It is particularly fascinating to examine these pieces and trace their influences from the Caucasus, Persia, and Anatolia.
Our carpet combines excellent colors with impressive graphics. Alberto Levi's important article features three pieces that form a small group with ours: on pages 110 and 111, numbers 24, 25, and 26, with comparable field patterns but completely different borders. Number 24 from the Islamic Museum in Berlin in particular shows interesting parallels. The field is much more subdued than in our piece, but also features jagged triangular shapes.
This brings us back to a large carpet that we successfully sold on November 16, 2024 as lot 166 (see also Hali 222, page 150). There, too, the jagged triangular shapes are found on the sides. The palmettes, which are positioned crosswise and blue in our example, are also comparable in all three carpets. Several of these pieces were discovered in Tibet and may have arrived there via Armenian traders. These wondrous carpets deserve further research and admiration.
Estimate: € 5000 - 70003 000 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
7 500 €Lot: 33
Fine Tehran with silk210 x 147 cm (6' 11" x 4' 10")
Persia, early 20th century
Condition: excellent
Warp: silk, weft: silk, pile: wool and silk
The Garrus-Bidjar carpets are undoubtedly among the most beautiful works produced in Persia in the second half of the 19th century. Here, however, we have a wonderful, complex vine pattern with a ravishing, typical green-ground border in an extremely rare semi-silk specimen from Tehran. It shows that masterpieces could still be created at the beginning of the 20th century.
We know that these patterns originate from the Garrus region northeast of Bidjar from a number of inscribed, mostly large-format pieces that refer to "work from Garrus" and "from the Garrus area." Three of these carpets were commissioned by Ali Khan Amir Nizam Garrusi. The elegant red tendrils flow into arabesques and merge into palmettes. In addition, the dark blue field is covered with a variety of flowering shrubs, some of which are overlaid by the tendrils.
The whole follows a classic Safavid concept, as we find it, for example, in a large fragment in the MAK in Vienna (inv. no. T 7346). The graceful yellow "cloud" shapes in the border on a green background is particularly appealing and elegant, while the seemingly random white lines within the red lancet leaves enliven the design.
In our carpet, the Garrus motif is also rendered in luxurious silk and offers the advantage of not reaching the eight-meter length of the signed pieces.
Estimate: € 10000 - 150007 500 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
5 000 €Lot: 34
Fine Unusual Neiriz Pictorial Rug170 x 111 cm (5' 7" x 3' 8")
Persia, second half 19th century
Condition: very good, good pile, minor small repairs, minor signs of use, original sides and ends
Warp: cotton, weft: cotton, pile: wool
In the 19th century, a design revolution took place in Iran. The depiction of people, which had previously only been possible in miniatures for the upper classes, now became accessible to the general public. Large oil paintings, kalamkaris, and carpets depicted rulers, dervishes, and heroes from legends. Even in villages and rural areas, depictions could be found in coffee houses, symbolizing the dawn of a new era. Models were taken from European lithographs and books, perhaps somewhat naive and clumsy at first, but later with great perfection. At the beginning of the 20th century, the French diplomat, archaeologist, and connoisseur of Islamic art, Eustache de Lorey, saw a Kerman carpet in the bazaar of Tehran depicting a winged Assyrian king and remarked: "I regretted to see such good work and fine material wasted on such a miracle of bad taste." Of course, this Eurocentric view is outdated today, but even then it overlooked the modern retrospective view of the pre-Islamic history of the great Persian civilization in what was then Iran. Percy M. Sykes wrote in his 1902 book "Ten Thousand Miles in Persia": "The Farman Farma introduced some ugly European patterns, but these, at my insistence, were given up...". As a friend of Abdol Hossein Mirza Farmanfarma and a great connoisseur of Islamic culture, Sykes was perhaps more attached to traditional Oriental culture than appreciative of the new and more modern. The depiction of women with bouquets of flowers in our example differs mainly in the colors of their clothing. The style of representation is similar to a Bidjar carpet in Hali 80, page 90, which depicts a Qajar prince and a Kurdish woman. The colorfully dressed woman wears a cross on her forehead and a symbol around her neck. This could indicate that she is Christian or that she belongs to the second largest religion of the Kurds, Baha'i, a syncretic religion in which all founders of world religions are seen as the voice of one God.
Estimate: € 8000 - 120005 000 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
6 000 €Lot: 35
Silk Heriz190 x 139 cm (6' 3" x 4' 7")
Persia, late 19th century
Condition: very good, mostly good pile, minor small repairs
Warp: silk, weft: silk, pile: silk
A beautiful prayer rug made of the finest silk, finely woven in wonderful colors. Combined with an elegant, lively design, we have a perfect luxury item of the highest quality. Two large, slender columns support an elegantly curved, delicate arch, which is supported by two smaller, cut columns. The arch is unusually low, revealing more of the beautiful light blue spandrels. These are decorated with two red palmettes and loosely drawn spiral tendrils.
The beige inner field harmonizes beautifully with the blue corners. In the center, between the columns, a gigantic bouquet of flowers dominates, rising to the very top. It rises from a vase and displays different flower and leaf shapes.
In the side niches, we find larger flowers that appear to rise from a column capital. Simple flower tendrils fill the central red columns, which also appear in a more complex form in the red side borders. The dark blue main border is austere, with simple yet elegant corner solutions, thus keeping the exuberant field in check.
The effort that went into this piece is also evident in the fact that absolutely every motif is surrounded by an extra-fine contour line.
Estimate: € 12000 - 160006 000 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
6 000 €Lot: 36
Fine Bidjar Halvai190 x 144 cm (6' 3" x 4' 9")
Persia, late 19th century
Condition: excellent
Warp: wool, weft: wool, pile: wool
The fine, all wool rugs from Bidjar are arguably some of the best carpets made in Iran in the late 19th century.
The quality of the natural dyes is the ideal partner for the high quality wool from Persian Kurdistan, and when combined with the density of weave achieved in the village workshops around Bidjar, the result is carpets that enhance any home and will improve with age and use.
This carpet is no exception, and its design is particularly unusual. While the white ground is immediately attractive, with a version of the harshang pattern, the four corners contain a most unusual series of motifs depicting a bird (perhaps a parrot), a horse fully equipped with tack, saddle, and horse covering, all accompanied by a dragonfly or butterfly.
The bodies of both the bird and the horse share the same speckled or dappled appearance, achieved by mixing coloured threads in the plies of each knot.
These are surrounded by an unusual gul faranghi ("foreign flower") design, which is usually used in the field rather than the border. The overall composition is rare, attractive, and combines Western and Persian design elements to maximum effect.
Estimate: € 10000 - 150006 000 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
12 000 €Lot: 37
Silk Kum Kapu with metal brocade signed "KD"200 x 140 cm (6' 7" x 4' 7")
Turkey, ca. 1920
Condition: very good, full pile, slight signs of use, fringes partially incomplete
Warp: silk, weft: silk, pile: silk with metal brocade
An absolutely wonderful silk carpet with excellent colors and one of the most classic designs of Safavid court art.
A very unusual piece that clearly stands out from other finely knotted works from the district of Istanbul, which was formerly predominantly inhabited by Armenians. A beautiful freshness of color pervades the elegant spiral tendrils of the field design.
The preciousness of this carpet is expressed not only in its design and excellent craftsmanship, but also in the use of materials. Shiny silk is combined with silver metal brocades to create a luxury product that pays homage to the so-called
Polonaise carpets of the 17th century. A direct comparison of the field design can be found in the famous silk Pommersfelden Polonaise carpet with silver brocades (Christie's, May 2, 2019, lot 254).
This field design is rare among Kum Kapu carpets, as these usually feature either an all-over pattern or prayer niches.
The dynamic, complex field design is framed by a strict but effective, simple reciprocal crenellated border.
Estimate: € 25000 - 3500012 000 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
4 000 €Lot: 38
Anatolian Silk Rug188 x 122 cm (6' 2" x 4')
Turkey, 19th century
Condition: used, low pile, sides and ends partially slightly damaged, signs of use
Warp: cotton, weft: cotton, pile: silk
This unusual rug features faux Arabic script in the borders and a design that reflects the Baroque inspired decorative style favoured by the Ottoman court at the end of the 19th century, seen in both the interiors of Dolmabahçe Palace and the work produced in the Hereke weaving workshops. The tracery of the central medallion is particularly striking, complemented by a scrolled vine field that resolves beautifully around the corners and successfully incorporates the four inscription cartouches.
Estimate: € 6000 - 80004 000 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
7 000 €Lot: 39
Fine Silk Istanbul Rug177 x 113 cm (5' 10" x 3' 8")
Turkey, late 19th century
Condition: good, pile low in places, signs of use on sides and ends
Warp: cotton, weft: cotton, pile: silk
This fine carpet is difficult to attribute, although it displays colours, weave, and design characteristics like those found in high quality rugs made in the Hereke workshops. In particular, the side finishes, the slight kilim ends, and the use of a corrosive dark purple and red dye - usually associated with early aniline dyes - all point in that direction. The design in both the border and the field is recognisable from vase carpets of 17th century Safavid Iran, as well as later 19th century silk rugs from Tabriz.
Rugs produced in Istanbul workshops, especially those from Kum Kapi, often carry signatures that are difficult to read and sometimes hidden within border or field motifs. In this example, it is not clear whether the motifs in the dark ground cartouche at the top of the field might represent such signatures.
Estimate: € 10000 - 150007 000 € -
Startpreis / Startingbid
7 500 €Lot: 40
Palace-size Heriz602 x 337 cm (19' 9" x 11' 1")
Persia, late 19th century
Condition: good, pile low but not worn, both ends slightly restored, scattered professional restorations
Warp: cotton, weft: cotton, pile: wool
Estimate: € 15000 - 200007 500 €