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拍品专文
This rug was used at the coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey on the 9th August 1902. It was laid under the throne on which King Edward VII was crowned.'
'This rug was used to cover the dais in Westminster Abbey upon which the Imperial thrones stood for the coronation ceremony of George V on the 22nd day of June 1911.'
'This rug was also used in Westminster Abbey at the marriage of Her Royal Highness Princess Mary on the 28th February 1922.'
'Coronation carpet presented to Glasgow Cathedral by Captain Charles A. Hepburn R. A. of Hillhead, Glasgow, as a memorial to his beloved wife Anne Campbell who died 26th November 1958.'
The history of this extraordinary 17th century Safavid carpet is woven into the ceremonial life of the British monarchy. Revered for its craftsmanship and rich palette, the carpet served as the regal foundation for three major royal occasions at Westminster Abbey, including the coronations of King Edward VII in 1902 and King George V in 1911, and the wedding of Princess Mary in 1922. Its presence at these landmark events has elevated it beyond a work of art, transforming it into a silent witness to moments of British history and royal tradition.
The tradition of using splendid Persian carpets in European royal or courtly ceremonial events has been continued for centuries as seen in the anointing of King Frederik IV in 1700, painted by Bendix Grodtschilling III (1686-1737) which clearly displays a large ‘Polonaise' carpet, from the Danish Royal collection, between the thrones and the altar.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the present carpet was with the prominent British art dealing brothers Henry and Joseph Duveen who were commissioned to provide both tapestries and carpets for the coronation of Edward VII in 1902 (Linda Komaroff, ‘The Coronation Carpet’, HALI, Issue 162, pp.46-49). The Duveen brothers, who began in the late 1860s, were noted as being the buyers of most of the Safavid carpets appearing on the market at the time which helped encourage collectors and drive the market upwards. Three carpets were provided which included the present lot, together with the large ‘Paradise’ carpet now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California (acc.no.49.8), and a Khorasan carpet with Yves Mikaeloff, which subsequently sold in these Rooms, 16 October 1997, lot 100.
Following Edward VII's coronation, the present carpet was sold to the Scottish art collector John Augustus Holms (1866-1938), the same collector from whom the renowned Glaswegian collector, Sir William Burrell, bought the Wagner Kirman 'Garden' carpet. Holms later loaned the carpet back to Westminster Abbey to be used during the coronation of King George V in 1911, and the wedding of Princess Mary and Henry Lascelles in February 1922, as the labels attached to the carpet attest. After the death of Holms in 1939, the carpet was bought by another Scottish collector, Charles A. Hepburn (1891-1971) who years later donated it to Glasgow Cathedral in 1971, where it was placed over the tomb of St. Mungo, the city’s patron saint (Thomas Farnham, ‘A Tangled Tale’, HALI, Issue 164, p.49).
The field of the Holms Hepburn carpet is based on a classic Safavid red ground ‘in and out palmette’ design which has become synonymous with court production of this period. The drawing of the palmettes and leaves is relatively angular and one can see the early manifestations of what was to become known as the 'herati' pattern in the subsequent century. The border comprises a design of alternating red and yellow cartouches and ivory stellate medallions. A very similar cartouche border can be found on a North West Persian medallion carpet in the Keir Collection (Friedrich Spuhler, Islamic Carpets and Textiles in the Keir Collection, London, 1978, p.96, no.51), as well as a rug in the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest (acc.no.51.110.1).
Although the early 20th century coronations of both British royals were widely reported on, and the coronation of Edward VII even filmed by pioneering French cinematographer Georges Méliès, the quality of the footage and some images make it hard to determine fine details. The distinctive cartouche border of the Holms Hepburn carpet however, does serve as an aide in its identification amongst the surviving historical photographic material of the events, corroborating the evidence provided by the labels attached on its reverse. Furthermore, we are fortunate enough to be able to turn to contemporary paintings of the event as a further source of identification. The clearest depiction of this carpet is in John Byam Liston Shaw’s (1872-1919) painted study of the moment when the crown was placed on the head of Edward VII (RCIN 922540). There, the indigo border with colourful white and yellow cartouches can be clearly seen. There is also a suggestion of the border beneath the throne on the dais in Edward Austin Abbey’s official painting of the coronation, (1902-07) commissioned by Edward VII, though far more apparent in the painting is the large Safavid medallion carpet that covers the ground up to the steps, now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, discussed above (Komaroff, op.cit., p.48, fig.3).
There is similar visual evidence documenting it at the coronation of George V. This includes a black and white print in the New York Public library, with an elevated perspective which makes it clear that this carpet was placed upon the dias beneath the throne upon which George V was crowned (image ID 1242799). A second anonymous painting of the scene, taken from a slightly lower vantage point, shows the moment when the king was anointed, upon which the border is also clearly visible.
'This rug was used to cover the dais in Westminster Abbey upon which the Imperial thrones stood for the coronation ceremony of George V on the 22nd day of June 1911.'
'This rug was also used in Westminster Abbey at the marriage of Her Royal Highness Princess Mary on the 28th February 1922.'
'Coronation carpet presented to Glasgow Cathedral by Captain Charles A. Hepburn R. A. of Hillhead, Glasgow, as a memorial to his beloved wife Anne Campbell who died 26th November 1958.'
The history of this extraordinary 17th century Safavid carpet is woven into the ceremonial life of the British monarchy. Revered for its craftsmanship and rich palette, the carpet served as the regal foundation for three major royal occasions at Westminster Abbey, including the coronations of King Edward VII in 1902 and King George V in 1911, and the wedding of Princess Mary in 1922. Its presence at these landmark events has elevated it beyond a work of art, transforming it into a silent witness to moments of British history and royal tradition.
The tradition of using splendid Persian carpets in European royal or courtly ceremonial events has been continued for centuries as seen in the anointing of King Frederik IV in 1700, painted by Bendix Grodtschilling III (1686-1737) which clearly displays a large ‘Polonaise' carpet, from the Danish Royal collection, between the thrones and the altar.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the present carpet was with the prominent British art dealing brothers Henry and Joseph Duveen who were commissioned to provide both tapestries and carpets for the coronation of Edward VII in 1902 (Linda Komaroff, ‘The Coronation Carpet’, HALI, Issue 162, pp.46-49). The Duveen brothers, who began in the late 1860s, were noted as being the buyers of most of the Safavid carpets appearing on the market at the time which helped encourage collectors and drive the market upwards. Three carpets were provided which included the present lot, together with the large ‘Paradise’ carpet now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California (acc.no.49.8), and a Khorasan carpet with Yves Mikaeloff, which subsequently sold in these Rooms, 16 October 1997, lot 100.
Following Edward VII's coronation, the present carpet was sold to the Scottish art collector John Augustus Holms (1866-1938), the same collector from whom the renowned Glaswegian collector, Sir William Burrell, bought the Wagner Kirman 'Garden' carpet. Holms later loaned the carpet back to Westminster Abbey to be used during the coronation of King George V in 1911, and the wedding of Princess Mary and Henry Lascelles in February 1922, as the labels attached to the carpet attest. After the death of Holms in 1939, the carpet was bought by another Scottish collector, Charles A. Hepburn (1891-1971) who years later donated it to Glasgow Cathedral in 1971, where it was placed over the tomb of St. Mungo, the city’s patron saint (Thomas Farnham, ‘A Tangled Tale’, HALI, Issue 164, p.49).
The field of the Holms Hepburn carpet is based on a classic Safavid red ground ‘in and out palmette’ design which has become synonymous with court production of this period. The drawing of the palmettes and leaves is relatively angular and one can see the early manifestations of what was to become known as the 'herati' pattern in the subsequent century. The border comprises a design of alternating red and yellow cartouches and ivory stellate medallions. A very similar cartouche border can be found on a North West Persian medallion carpet in the Keir Collection (Friedrich Spuhler, Islamic Carpets and Textiles in the Keir Collection, London, 1978, p.96, no.51), as well as a rug in the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest (acc.no.51.110.1).
Although the early 20th century coronations of both British royals were widely reported on, and the coronation of Edward VII even filmed by pioneering French cinematographer Georges Méliès, the quality of the footage and some images make it hard to determine fine details. The distinctive cartouche border of the Holms Hepburn carpet however, does serve as an aide in its identification amongst the surviving historical photographic material of the events, corroborating the evidence provided by the labels attached on its reverse. Furthermore, we are fortunate enough to be able to turn to contemporary paintings of the event as a further source of identification. The clearest depiction of this carpet is in John Byam Liston Shaw’s (1872-1919) painted study of the moment when the crown was placed on the head of Edward VII (RCIN 922540). There, the indigo border with colourful white and yellow cartouches can be clearly seen. There is also a suggestion of the border beneath the throne on the dais in Edward Austin Abbey’s official painting of the coronation, (1902-07) commissioned by Edward VII, though far more apparent in the painting is the large Safavid medallion carpet that covers the ground up to the steps, now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, discussed above (Komaroff, op.cit., p.48, fig.3).
There is similar visual evidence documenting it at the coronation of George V. This includes a black and white print in the New York Public library, with an elevated perspective which makes it clear that this carpet was placed upon the dias beneath the throne upon which George V was crowned (image ID 1242799). A second anonymous painting of the scene, taken from a slightly lower vantage point, shows the moment when the king was anointed, upon which the border is also clearly visible.