POSSIBLY ISTANBUL, TURKEY, LATE 19TH CENTURY

The present prayer rug belongs to an interesting and perplexing group of vase-technique rugs, which have historically been attributed to late 17th or early 18th century Persia. Two of these rugs were included in The Bernheimer Family Collection of Carpets, sold in these Rooms, 14 February 1996; an octagonal carpet with a blazon of rampant lions, lot 35, and a pink-ground waq-waq rug, lot 74. Since the Bernheimer sale we have encountered a number of these weavings in private collections and they are united in technique, slightly dull colouring, an awkwardness of drawing and regular oval-shaped holes, such as in the present lot. It appears that the most likely explanation for the appearance of the group is that they were woven to deliberately deceive. We can trace the provenance of the present example back to the 1920s in two important collections, but no further, which would fit with the idea that this was a group of rugs produced at the turn of the century. Of all the possible production centres for these rugs, Istanbul appears to be the most plausible attribution due to the renewed interest in 16th and 17th century weavings and the presence of workshops such as the Armenian weavers of Koum Kapi who were producing their own versions of famous Safavid carpets, please see lot 112 in the present sale. For two further examples of this group sold in these Rooms, see 24 April 1997, lot 452 and 13 April 2000, lot 74.