SOUTH CAUCASUS, DATED AH 1255/1839 AD

The Harshang design was extremely popular in both the Caucasus and North West Persia throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It appears that the design was first used in the Khorasan district and in origin ultimately derives from the Isfahan 'in and out' palmette design. For a discussion of four late eighteenth and early 19th century contrasting appearances of the harshang design, please see Pamela Bensoussan, 'Four Harshang Pattern Carpets in the Museée des Arts Decoratifs', Hali, vol.3, no.3, pp.207-209. A closely related example, formerly in the William R. Pickering collection and now in the Metropolitan Museum is published by M.S.Dimand and Jean Mailey, Oriental Rugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1973, fig.125, p.92.