Turkish Silk Rug: 4’8 x 6’4
In shades of old gold, chestnut, charcoal, cocoa, terra cotta, amber, ivory and touches of lavender, this very finely woven silk carpet shows interesting movement of designs in time and space. This repetitive motive is taken from a famous group of antique carpets know as ‘shield carpets’, woven in the Caucasus. The motif, a trefoil with interior cypress trees separated by long stemmed plantforms topped by curled leaves, was probably derived originally from early Ottoman velvets, thus traveling from Turkey to the Caucasus and back again to Istanbul, and by the somewhat naive drawing, considering the fineness of the weave as well the colors, copied from a later shield carpet.
BIJAR RUG: 5’11 x 7’4
Saturated color, a wealth of design, glorious wool and a tight weave are the hallmarks of this group of splendid weavings, and this is a classic of its type. The brilliant red field, the golden stepped diamond medallion filled with eight-pointed stars and stylized combs, the wonderful blue palmetter pendants, and the blue corner spandrels bearing stylized plant material, all show a debt in design to the tribal weavings made around the village workshop that produced this carpet. The light honey main border carries rosettes, pendant and slanted leaves in a vigorous frame to this rug, small in size, but monumental in design.
SHIRVAN RUG:4’6 x 6’2
A layered series of geometric medallions: an octagon in the slate blue center shows a meat trellis with blossoms, with the next layer showing a stepped and crenellated deep red reserve with pendants at the ends and eight- pointed stars, on a slate blue field bearing florets in the corners. A border of ivory double-hooked motifs frames the rug.
HERIZ CARPET: 5’5 x 8’5
The narrow field, in shades of gray green at one end, and leaf brown at the other, shows a favored compartment garden design, of slender stretched forked arabesques that enclosed geometric motifs and flowering vines. The unusually wide beige border shows a handsome meander of palmetters flanked by pairs of pendant, serrated leaves, salmon alternating with cerulean blue and a profusion of green leaves.
TABRIZ CARPET: 5’6 x 8
’
A large light honey and sand lobed round medallion with pendants floats on a deep indigo blue reserve that is filled with flowering vines, angular dotted lines, and lateral cartouches, within honey-beige corner spandrels that show small trellises and trailing vines. But it is the willow trees that are unifying element in this carpet. We see that in the corners, trefoil pendants, and within the central medallion. A deep blue main border shows a commanding forked arabesque meander with palmettes, enclosing a stylized twilight garden.
PEKING CHINESE CARPET: 5’10 x 8’8
On a pale honey ground, in the central medallion, in addition to a character for good fortune, we see eight small archaic fret dragons. And around it are vases on stands with varied flower arrangements, two pairs of butterflies, and floral corner spandrels. The theme of good fortune continues with some Buddhist symbols in the main border, and includes more Chinese characters, bats, coins, scrolls, endless knots and cloud bands, all in delicate color: amber, persimmon, dull gold, gray-green, jade and light pink.
OUSHAK CARPET: 8’6 x 8’7
On this uncluttered and quiet dull gold carpet, we see at either end, stylized rams heads poised on serrated half medallions with a few ‘adventitious fillers’, plant forms, scattered over the field, and a main border in the same palette showing slender geometric motifs. The other color is faded pink outlined in chocolate brown.
AMRITZAR CARPET: 8’ x 10
’
There is such a variety of palmettes in this carpet, so densely are they placed in a reverse repeat that begins from the central flanked by paired lanceolate leaves, that the atelier and its weavers could appear to celebrate their delight in this splendidly adaptable motif. Woven on olive green, we see shades of gold, tobacco, pink, ivory, and burgundy, a favored combination found in Indian carpets.
HERIZ CARPET: 7’9 x 9’6
We see here an example of a carpet woven in the hills and valleys near the old city of Tabriz, with many features of geometric designs found in the tribal rugs of the province of Azerbaijan. On an unusual light ground, the patterns are woven in light colors, and while the general scheme is reverse repeat, the scale of the design does not quite match, giving the whole a playful charm and originality. The split lilies placed on the diagonal (called the afshan design), flanking the cerulean blue palmetters, are also within dark outlined shield palmettes along the sides of the field, which further gives the geometric floral trellis variety and strength.
