PROBABLY LAHORE, FIRST HALF 19TH CENTURY

The impressive design of this carpet, clearly inspired by Safavid Persian carpets, is a copy of one of the Maharaja of Jaipur's Shikargah or 'Hunting' carpets that remain in the Jaipur Museum in India. At the turn of the century, Thomas H. Hendley compiled a book of drawings of carpets from the collection of the Maharaja of Jaipur and others. Many of the patterns were drawn by draughtsmen at Jaipur under the supervision of S.S. Jacob, who had collaborated with Hendley on other works, (Thomas H. Hendley, Asian Carpets XVI and XVII Century Designs from the Jaipur Palace, London [1905]). One of the coloured plates illustrates a wide corner of the broad intricate arabesque strapwork border of the present lot and another the lower left quarter of the field with animals and part of central weeping willow tree (Hendley, op.cit. pl.XCIX and pl.C part IV.) At the time, Hendley noted that a copy of the Maharaja's carpet was produced at the Lahore Jail from a fragment of the original and later a third, smaller, carpet was woven, the drawing of which alone took over a year to produce. A carpet bearing this design was sold at Sotheby's New York, 16 December 2009, lot 147, while we know of another in a private French collection.