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Lot Essay
The upper inscription cartouche reads Farmayesh-e (made to the order of) Isma'il wa Aba Yahuda.
Isma'il and Aba Yahudi produced a number of carpets starting their business in the 1860s probably in Kashan. They are thought to have moved later to the Fereghan area (Anton Felton, Jewish Rugs. A History and Guide, Suffolk, 1997, p.141). Since medieval times Kashan had been a centre of Persian Jewish culture; it is here that most Jewish carpets were being produced and from where extensive carpet business was made with the booming market in Europe and the United States. One of the most successful carpet merchants was Hadji Yehuda Haroonian who later moved from Kashan to Tehran (op. cit., p.26).
A great number of carpets commissioned by Isma'il and Aba Yahudi bear an inscription with their names and it is assumed that they provided the weavers in-situ with the cartoons as well as with instructions in terms of knotting, size and colour. The present carpet shows a traditional design of palmettes, floral motifs and combat scenes. It can be found in many Persian carpets for instance in the Tehran carpet, lot 207, though in the present example colour, drawing and spacing are perfectly balanced. Another carpet of this design woven in silk by the same workshop was sold in these Rooms 2 April 2009, lot 156. It is smaller and not nearly as well drawn as the present example.
Isma'il and Aba Yahudi produced a number of carpets starting their business in the 1860s probably in Kashan. They are thought to have moved later to the Fereghan area (Anton Felton, Jewish Rugs. A History and Guide, Suffolk, 1997, p.141). Since medieval times Kashan had been a centre of Persian Jewish culture; it is here that most Jewish carpets were being produced and from where extensive carpet business was made with the booming market in Europe and the United States. One of the most successful carpet merchants was Hadji Yehuda Haroonian who later moved from Kashan to Tehran (op. cit., p.26).
A great number of carpets commissioned by Isma'il and Aba Yahudi bear an inscription with their names and it is assumed that they provided the weavers in-situ with the cartoons as well as with instructions in terms of knotting, size and colour. The present carpet shows a traditional design of palmettes, floral motifs and combat scenes. It can be found in many Persian carpets for instance in the Tehran carpet, lot 207, though in the present example colour, drawing and spacing are perfectly balanced. Another carpet of this design woven in silk by the same workshop was sold in these Rooms 2 April 2009, lot 156. It is smaller and not nearly as well drawn as the present example.