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Lot Essay
Conceived as an endless repeat, the design of small-pattern 'Holbein' rugs consists of two main ornaments which are interlocked in a complex fashion. The primary motif are the octagons with interlaced outlines in the shape of an infinite knot. The second design layer consists of elongated quartered diamonds with arabesque outlines which, in the present fragment, are woven in red or pale blue, depending on their background colour. In her seminal article, Amy Briggs, clearly demonstrated the link between the small pattern 'Holbein' rugs and Timurid Persian arts (A. Briggs, 'Timurid Carpets, I: Geometric Carpets', Arts Islamica 7, 1940, pp.20-54). Links at the time between the Ottoman empire and their Timurid (and, in the second half of the century Ak-koyunlu or White Sheep Turkman) neighbours in Iran were strong, albeit interspersed with periods of confrontation. Persian craftsmen for example were imported to create the tilework for the Yesil Cami in Bursa, the then Ottoman capital in the 1420s and again later in the century at Edirne. Thus it is not surprising that many rugs depicted in Timurid miniatures are very similar to rugs of the 'small pattern Holbein' group. It has also been noted a number of times how the design of these rugs relates very closely to that of Turkman rugs (Robert Pinner and Michael Franses, 'Turkish Carpets in the Victoria and Albert Museum', HALI 24, vol.6, no.4, p.363-5 for example). One minor feature not mentioned there, which is common to both types in certain examples and well represented here, is a playfulness with the design of the centre of the medallions or guls, where in this fragment there are at least four different designs within the central octagon.
The dating of a large number of these rugs to the 15th century is also supported by evidence discussed by John Mills from European paintings including rugs of this group dating from between 1451 and 1655, although a greater concentration appears between 1450 and 1550 with only a couple of isolated examples being shown thereafter (John Mills, 'Small Pattern Holbein Carpets in Western Paintings', HALI, vol.1, no.4, pp.326-334).
Although a fragment, the present lot has retained its colour which enhances the clarity of the design. Interestingly this fragment is not included in the exhaustive list of 70 known rugs and fragments of the small pattern 'Holbein' group by Charles Grant Ellis, 'Ellis in Holbeinland', in Robert Pinner and Walter B. Denny, Oriental Carpet and Textile Studies I, London, 1985, p.73. Of that list, which excluded the numerous pieces, mostly fragmentary, in the Keir Collection, all but 13 are held either in museums or in other institutions or churches. To our knowledge this fragment was previously unrecorded and is published here for the first time.
The dating of a large number of these rugs to the 15th century is also supported by evidence discussed by John Mills from European paintings including rugs of this group dating from between 1451 and 1655, although a greater concentration appears between 1450 and 1550 with only a couple of isolated examples being shown thereafter (John Mills, 'Small Pattern Holbein Carpets in Western Paintings', HALI, vol.1, no.4, pp.326-334).
Although a fragment, the present lot has retained its colour which enhances the clarity of the design. Interestingly this fragment is not included in the exhaustive list of 70 known rugs and fragments of the small pattern 'Holbein' group by Charles Grant Ellis, 'Ellis in Holbeinland', in Robert Pinner and Walter B. Denny, Oriental Carpet and Textile Studies I, London, 1985, p.73. Of that list, which excluded the numerous pieces, mostly fragmentary, in the Keir Collection, all but 13 are held either in museums or in other institutions or churches. To our knowledge this fragment was previously unrecorded and is published here for the first time.