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Lot Essay
It still remains unclear exactly where this group of rugs were woven but, according to John Taylor, it was likely in the south of Tbilisi by Azeri Turks who were familiar with the designs of traditional Anatolian rugs and earlier large-pattern Holbein carpets of 4-and-1 medallion formation. (https://www.rugtracker.com/2017/07/karachov-case-study.html?m=1)
The wide proportions, open-spaced design and green-ground of this Karachof rug are synonymous with the earliest examples of this group. The inscribed date may be read as either AH 1207 / 1792 AD or AH 1257 / 1841 AD, although the fine weave and handle of the rug make a late 18th century date plausible. There are just nine recorded examples that display the same so-called 'waterbug' border as the present rug, with the closest comparable selling Sotheby’s New York, 31 October 1997, lot 26. Others include Bausback 1979, p.35; U. Schurmann, Oriental Carpets, pp. 176-7; Through the Collector’s Eye, pl.18; Christie's New York, 16 December 1994, lot 37; HALI Issue 77, p.10 (Kunsthaus Am Museum); Achdjian. Tapis (Orient Anciens, pl.25). The first three have yellow ground borders, as here, the others white-ground. The first five have green fields. The quality of the present lot prompted HALI to write, (Issue 97, p.134), "the clean lines and uncluttered design, the proportions of medallion to field, the quality of its dyes and its overall look qualify it as one of the earliest and best (arguably the best) Karachovs we have seen". An early green ground example, but with a serrated leaf and glass border, was published by E. Herrmann, Seltene Orientteppiche VIII, Munich, 1986, pl.25, pp.66-7.
The wide proportions, open-spaced design and green-ground of this Karachof rug are synonymous with the earliest examples of this group. The inscribed date may be read as either AH 1207 / 1792 AD or AH 1257 / 1841 AD, although the fine weave and handle of the rug make a late 18th century date plausible. There are just nine recorded examples that display the same so-called 'waterbug' border as the present rug, with the closest comparable selling Sotheby’s New York, 31 October 1997, lot 26. Others include Bausback 1979, p.35; U. Schurmann, Oriental Carpets, pp. 176-7; Through the Collector’s Eye, pl.18; Christie's New York, 16 December 1994, lot 37; HALI Issue 77, p.10 (Kunsthaus Am Museum); Achdjian. Tapis (Orient Anciens, pl.25). The first three have yellow ground borders, as here, the others white-ground. The first five have green fields. The quality of the present lot prompted HALI to write, (Issue 97, p.134), "the clean lines and uncluttered design, the proportions of medallion to field, the quality of its dyes and its overall look qualify it as one of the earliest and best (arguably the best) Karachovs we have seen". An early green ground example, but with a serrated leaf and glass border, was published by E. Herrmann, Seltene Orientteppiche VIII, Munich, 1986, pl.25, pp.66-7.