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Lot Essay
The knot count is approximately 8H x 8V per cm. sq.
The inscription cartouche centred on each border repeats the same Persian nasta'liq couplet and is flanked by a smaller cartouche that reads; Mobarak bad, Congratulations;
Saghi be nure badeh baar afrouz jam-e ma
'O wine-bearer, brighten my cup with the wine'
Matrab begou ke kare jahan shod beh kam-e ma
'O minstrel, say good fortune is now mine'
The large silk carpets produced in Heriz within the second half of the 19th century, are some of the most spectacular of all Qajar weavings. Mostly woven as special commissions, they would have been seen as one of the most explicit ways of displaying wealth and status. Carpets were frequently given as Nowruz gifts to celebrate the start of the new year and were often inscribed mobarak bad saneh, (May the year ...be blessed), alongside further verses from popular Persian poetry, in celebration of the occasion. The calligraphic verses of the present carpet are elegantly woven and the message of mirth and good fortune are clearly conveyed.
The field design of the present carpet has a very long ancestry. As so often is the case, we can trace the source of the design back to one of a number of highly successful overall pattern designs, incorporating interlocking arabesques and floral decoration, woven by the Kirmani weavers in south east Persia in the 17th century. A close variant of this design began to be woven in north west Persia in the 18th century and by the 19th century it was commonly associated with the small weaving centre of Garrus, near Bijar in west Persia, however it was not exclusively woven there. The design lent itself to the taste of the European interior in the second half of the 19th century, and its popularity meant that many examples are still found today in country houses in Britain and western Europe. Large carpets with this design in silk are far rarer than those in wool. A silk carpet of comparable design but on a red ground was sold as part of the collection of the late Abdi Roubeni, Christie's London, 7 October 2010, lot 47.