DESIGNED BY ZAREH PENYAMIN, ISTANBUL, TURKEY, CIRCA 1920

The very finely woven and intricately designed rugs of Koum Kapi were made in Istanbul during the early 20th century. The Turkish Armenians who made these rugs took their inspiration from the masterpieces that surrounded them as residents of the spectacular Ottoman capital, including 16th-century Persian Safavid carpets in the collection of the Imperial Treasury at the Topkapi Palace. Carpets, books and mosque decorations in the highly refined Ottoman court style that could be seen in the treasuries and mosques of the old city also served as inspiration. The present lot is an example by the master weaver Zareh Penyamin who is known for his superior standards and his use of pastel shades of silk intertwined with gold and silver brocading. For more information on Koum Kapi weaving, see Benoussan ("The Master Weavers of Istanbul," Hali 26, April/May/June 1983, pp. 34-41, nos. 18 and 19). For a Zareh silk prayer rug in the same design as ours, please see Benoussan's illustration 19. Here he suggests that this design was likely to have been woven during Zareh's tenure weaving for the Sultan.