This catalog offers a number of classical carpets including two from one of the oldest weaving groups, the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. Woven between 1450-1550, both of these Mamluk weavings are in a limited color palette of red, green, and blue and have a luminous quality due to their lustrous wool and intricate design. The larger of these two examples is being sold by the Mercer Trust and has an unusual overall design, which reflects the influence of the Ottoman Empire's conquest of the Mamluks in 1517. The Mamluk rug, which predates the aforementioned carpet by a generation or more, displays a distinctly Mamluk star-medallion design.
The Deering Caucasian Dragon carpet fragment demonstrates the grandeur of workshop production in the South Caucasus around 1700. This eloquently drawn weaving, which employs a wide range of color in an endless repeat design, is a large enough fragment to offer us a true sense of the scale and power of early Caucasian carpets. The Costikyan garden carpet from Northwest Persia, woven in the late 18th century, also has a large spectrum of sparkling colors and a design which reflects that of a true Persian paradisaical garden. Both of these carpets come to us with a long provenance including the renowned collectors by which they are now identified.
From farther to the east, we offer a Ninghsia lion-dog carpet woven in Western China during the second half of the 18th century. Formerly in the collection of the Henry Francis du Pont Wintherthur Museum, this rug has iconography and color complementary to Chinese decorative arts of the period that remains appealing today.
In addition to these early carpets, this auction includes a variety of tribal, village and city rugs as well as over 150 room-sized carpets. Nine "Mohtashem" Kashem carpets highlight the collection of carpets from an Eact Coast Museum. These carpets are named for the workshop of the master-weaver Mohtashem, who worked i the city Kashan in the second half of the 19th century and whose family continued weaving into the 20th century. Over time, the name "Mohtashem" has become synonymous with the carpets of the highest quality woven in Kashan. Those carpets which we term "Mohtashem" employ a highly spun, lustrous wool in a variety of earth tones which is finely woven into sophisticated, traditional designs.
Price: $14.95
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