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Lot Essay
These opulent silk carpets attracted much attention from travellers in Persia throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Often given as gifts throughout the reign of Shah 'Abbas (1587-1628), when their manufacture was at its height, this tradition continued throughout the reigns of Shah Safi (1629-1642) and Shah Abbas II (1642-1674). Members of royalty, visiting dignataries, merchants and ambassadors, were all recipients which explains why many are still housed today amongst the royal collections, important museums and wealthy private collections of Europe.
"Polonaise" or "Polish" carpets, an attribution which is now widely regarded as incorrect but has remained mainly for convenience sake, fall into various design groups. This particular piece bears similarities with several other large examples particularly in its field design of scrolling arabesques. One such from the former collection of King Umberto II of Italy, was sold in these Rooms (29 April 1993, lot 432).
The majority of large Polonaise carpets with scrolling arabesques, like the King Umberto example, have shaped sections of the field divided into differently coloured panels by the scrolling tendrils; it is often difficult to define a single field colour. The same idea is also often applied to the borders, creating a meandering two-tone effect (particularly clear in an example formerly in the Joseph Widener Collection (Dilley, Arthur Urbane and Dimand, Maurice: Oriental Rugs and Carpets, Philadelphia and New York, 1959, pl.XIV). The present rug however, both in its field, and in the border, executes the entire design against a metal-thread field. There is also a noticeable absence of the elongation of the spiral elements seen on most "Polonaise" carpets. These design features, coupled with the border design and the extensive use of split palmettes, are very comparable to those of the silk warped "Polonaise" rug formerly in the Rainey Rogers Collection, sold Sotheby's New York, December 8, 1990, lot 54, and the Czartoryski rug withdrawn from sale in these Rooms 11 October 1990, lot 20. The drawing and colouring on the present rug are closer to the Rainey Rogers, but the metal-thread field is immediately reminiscent of the Czartoryski. Both these rugs are thought to date from the very beginning of the manufactury of rugs in the "Polonaise" taste, probably near the beginning of the reign of Shah 'Abbas (1588-1629). The present carpet has cotton warps, as is normally expected of the "Polonaise" group, but the similarities with these two small silk warped rugs, in particular the Rainey Rogers example, indicate a relatively early dating for the present carpet within the "Polonaise" group.
The proportions of the present carpet are unusual. While a very few are longer, this appears to be as wide as any of the group, making the overall effect considerably less attenuated than is normally encountered in large "Polonaise" carpets.
"Polonaise" or "Polish" carpets, an attribution which is now widely regarded as incorrect but has remained mainly for convenience sake, fall into various design groups. This particular piece bears similarities with several other large examples particularly in its field design of scrolling arabesques. One such from the former collection of King Umberto II of Italy, was sold in these Rooms (29 April 1993, lot 432).
The majority of large Polonaise carpets with scrolling arabesques, like the King Umberto example, have shaped sections of the field divided into differently coloured panels by the scrolling tendrils; it is often difficult to define a single field colour. The same idea is also often applied to the borders, creating a meandering two-tone effect (particularly clear in an example formerly in the Joseph Widener Collection (Dilley, Arthur Urbane and Dimand, Maurice: Oriental Rugs and Carpets, Philadelphia and New York, 1959, pl.XIV). The present rug however, both in its field, and in the border, executes the entire design against a metal-thread field. There is also a noticeable absence of the elongation of the spiral elements seen on most "Polonaise" carpets. These design features, coupled with the border design and the extensive use of split palmettes, are very comparable to those of the silk warped "Polonaise" rug formerly in the Rainey Rogers Collection, sold Sotheby's New York, December 8, 1990, lot 54, and the Czartoryski rug withdrawn from sale in these Rooms 11 October 1990, lot 20. The drawing and colouring on the present rug are closer to the Rainey Rogers, but the metal-thread field is immediately reminiscent of the Czartoryski. Both these rugs are thought to date from the very beginning of the manufactury of rugs in the "Polonaise" taste, probably near the beginning of the reign of Shah 'Abbas (1588-1629). The present carpet has cotton warps, as is normally expected of the "Polonaise" group, but the similarities with these two small silk warped rugs, in particular the Rainey Rogers example, indicate a relatively early dating for the present carpet within the "Polonaise" group.
The proportions of the present carpet are unusual. While a very few are longer, this appears to be as wide as any of the group, making the overall effect considerably less attenuated than is normally encountered in large "Polonaise" carpets.