.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
拍品专文
These textile and the following lot belong to the group of ‘Caucasian’ embroideries which are commonly attributed to Azerbaijan and were produced between the 16th and 18th centuries. Caucasian embroidery was considered a lesser art to carpet weaving until the early 1990s and one of the first studies of the group in English was “A Synthesis of Contrasts” by Jennifer Wearden (HALI 59, London, 1991, p. 102-11). She proposed that Azerbaijani embroideries be organised into three groups depending on the technique used to fill the coloured motifs: cross-stitch, surface darning, or a variation of surface darning on the diagonal. Both of our textiles belong to this third group.
Although Wearden addresses the question of dating, her conclusions are cautious in large part due to the relative lack of securely dated examples. One suggestion is that surface darning, which is more economical, gained favour at the turn of the 18th century as silk became more expensive. Whilst being economical, another advantage of surface darning is the ability to work with a more fluid line which is useful for drawing more complicated figural and animal motifs. Boralevi and Samadova note that embroideries with human and animal figures, as found in our two textiles, are likely earlier than the 18th century (“Silk Treasures of Azerbaijan” in Boralevi et al., Stars of the Caucasus, Silk Embroideries from Azerbaijan, London, 2017, p.10).
Although the two embroideries here were most likely produced outside of context of urban workshops, their design sources are heavily informed by court textiles and Safavid decorative arts such as tile panels (Penny Oakley, “Caucasian Embroideries in Context”, in Boralevi et al., Stars of the Caucasus, Silk Embroideries from Azerbaijan, London, 2017, p.39). The catalogue note for an 18th century Azerbaijani Embroidery sold in these Rooms, 27 April 2017, lot 206, cites that design arrangement as being derived from the tilework of the Friday Mosque in Isfahan.
The relationship to Safavid decorative arts is particularly apparent in the earlier of the two textiles which is decorated with a central cusped medallion containing an enthroned peri with an attendant. Such motifs of a ruler or noble figure with an attendant or wine bearer (saqi) is found across Safavid arts of the 16th and 17th centuries (for a Safavid velvet panel of similar motif in repeating cusped medallions see Metropolitan Museum of Art, 52.20.11 and for a Safavid tile panel of the wine bearer theme see Victoria and Albert Museum, 139:1 to 4-1891). The inclusion of the enthroned peri draws particular parallels to two 16th century textiles: the Esterhazy Applique dated 1525-1550[6] and The Czartoryski Canopy, dated 1550-1575 (Princes Czartoryski Foundation Museum, Cracow, XIII-5043). Both textiles, like ours, feature enthroned figures with attendants/wine servers and peris. However, our textile panel is particularly similar to the Czartoryski Canopy for its central medallion and lattice design which relates visually to both contemporaneous Safavid carpet and tile design.
The central medallion containing the peri and attendant is flanked by four cusped roundels containing falconers on horseback and four cartouches with mounted figures in combat with leopards. Such a motif is a recurring feature in Persian art and may be identified with the story of the Sassanian ruler Bahram Gur who was famed for his hunting exploits. Similar leopard combat groups in elongated cartouches are found on an impressive Azerbaijani embroidery in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (24.438). The Boston example is dated to the final quarter of the 16th century and features a central cusped medallion containing two mounted figures. Also produced with the surface-darning technique, the quality of drawing is particularly strong and such a textile might have provided a visual source for our design.
In its overall design and conception, our second embroidered panel with a black-ground is perhaps more closely informed by contemporary carpet design from Azerbaijan and the Caucasus with its central red medallion issuing foliate tendrils (or ‘horns’). This panel relates to a small group of four black-ground embroideries with similar designs and colouring dating from the second half of the 17th/ early 18th century and tentatively attributed to Tabriz by Michael Franses (“Safavid Style: Domestic embroideries from historical Azerbaijan”, in Boralevi et al., Stars of the Caucasus, Silk Embroideries from Azerbaijan, London, 2017, p.70). The most similar of the group is in the Victoria and Albert Museum and dated to the first quarter of the 18th century. It is of very a comparable palette with a similar quality of drawing, however the arrangement of octagonal medallions and cartouches differs from our central medallion format. Perhaps the closest comparable to our textile panel is an embroidered cover which was not included in Franses’s in the Textile Museum, Washington D.C., dated to the 18th century (3.31). Like our textile, the Washington cover has a central red-ground medallion issuing cream tendrils against a black ground. It also has a comparable red ground border. Where our panel has animals in the medallions, the Washington example has two figures in just the central medallion.
Both textiles were formerly in the collection of pioneering archaeologist and collector Lieutenant-General Augustus Pitt-Rivers (1827-1900). A career in the British army sparked an interest in the history of weapons, which later expanded into a broader study of collecting and material culture. In 1880, upon inheriting a vast estate from a cousin, he adopted the name Pitt-Rivers and devoted himself fully to archaeology. In 1884 some 20,000 items from his collection were donated to the University of Oxford which formed the core of the collection of the eponymous Pitt Rivers Museum.
Although Wearden addresses the question of dating, her conclusions are cautious in large part due to the relative lack of securely dated examples. One suggestion is that surface darning, which is more economical, gained favour at the turn of the 18th century as silk became more expensive. Whilst being economical, another advantage of surface darning is the ability to work with a more fluid line which is useful for drawing more complicated figural and animal motifs. Boralevi and Samadova note that embroideries with human and animal figures, as found in our two textiles, are likely earlier than the 18th century (“Silk Treasures of Azerbaijan” in Boralevi et al., Stars of the Caucasus, Silk Embroideries from Azerbaijan, London, 2017, p.10).
Although the two embroideries here were most likely produced outside of context of urban workshops, their design sources are heavily informed by court textiles and Safavid decorative arts such as tile panels (Penny Oakley, “Caucasian Embroideries in Context”, in Boralevi et al., Stars of the Caucasus, Silk Embroideries from Azerbaijan, London, 2017, p.39). The catalogue note for an 18th century Azerbaijani Embroidery sold in these Rooms, 27 April 2017, lot 206, cites that design arrangement as being derived from the tilework of the Friday Mosque in Isfahan.
The relationship to Safavid decorative arts is particularly apparent in the earlier of the two textiles which is decorated with a central cusped medallion containing an enthroned peri with an attendant. Such motifs of a ruler or noble figure with an attendant or wine bearer (saqi) is found across Safavid arts of the 16th and 17th centuries (for a Safavid velvet panel of similar motif in repeating cusped medallions see Metropolitan Museum of Art, 52.20.11 and for a Safavid tile panel of the wine bearer theme see Victoria and Albert Museum, 139:1 to 4-1891). The inclusion of the enthroned peri draws particular parallels to two 16th century textiles: the Esterhazy Applique dated 1525-1550[6] and The Czartoryski Canopy, dated 1550-1575 (Princes Czartoryski Foundation Museum, Cracow, XIII-5043). Both textiles, like ours, feature enthroned figures with attendants/wine servers and peris. However, our textile panel is particularly similar to the Czartoryski Canopy for its central medallion and lattice design which relates visually to both contemporaneous Safavid carpet and tile design.
The central medallion containing the peri and attendant is flanked by four cusped roundels containing falconers on horseback and four cartouches with mounted figures in combat with leopards. Such a motif is a recurring feature in Persian art and may be identified with the story of the Sassanian ruler Bahram Gur who was famed for his hunting exploits. Similar leopard combat groups in elongated cartouches are found on an impressive Azerbaijani embroidery in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (24.438). The Boston example is dated to the final quarter of the 16th century and features a central cusped medallion containing two mounted figures. Also produced with the surface-darning technique, the quality of drawing is particularly strong and such a textile might have provided a visual source for our design.
In its overall design and conception, our second embroidered panel with a black-ground is perhaps more closely informed by contemporary carpet design from Azerbaijan and the Caucasus with its central red medallion issuing foliate tendrils (or ‘horns’). This panel relates to a small group of four black-ground embroideries with similar designs and colouring dating from the second half of the 17th/ early 18th century and tentatively attributed to Tabriz by Michael Franses (“Safavid Style: Domestic embroideries from historical Azerbaijan”, in Boralevi et al., Stars of the Caucasus, Silk Embroideries from Azerbaijan, London, 2017, p.70). The most similar of the group is in the Victoria and Albert Museum and dated to the first quarter of the 18th century. It is of very a comparable palette with a similar quality of drawing, however the arrangement of octagonal medallions and cartouches differs from our central medallion format. Perhaps the closest comparable to our textile panel is an embroidered cover which was not included in Franses’s in the Textile Museum, Washington D.C., dated to the 18th century (3.31). Like our textile, the Washington cover has a central red-ground medallion issuing cream tendrils against a black ground. It also has a comparable red ground border. Where our panel has animals in the medallions, the Washington example has two figures in just the central medallion.
Both textiles were formerly in the collection of pioneering archaeologist and collector Lieutenant-General Augustus Pitt-Rivers (1827-1900). A career in the British army sparked an interest in the history of weapons, which later expanded into a broader study of collecting and material culture. In 1880, upon inheriting a vast estate from a cousin, he adopted the name Pitt-Rivers and devoted himself fully to archaeology. In 1884 some 20,000 items from his collection were donated to the University of Oxford which formed the core of the collection of the eponymous Pitt Rivers Museum.