Middle East, Carpet. Carpet, wool knotted pile on cotton warp and wool weft, 'Vase Carpet' two-plane lattice design on red ground, Kerman, Iran, 1650-1750

Carpet, Vase Carpet design, hand knotted woollen pile on cotton warp and woollen weft, Persian, probably 17th century
WARP: white cotton; Z4S; 33 threads to the inch (130 per dm); depressed.
WEFT: pale green wool; Z2S; 3 shoots after each row of knots, 1 straight, 1 sinuous, 1 straight; 12 knots to the inch (50 per dm).
PILE: wool; 19 colours: red, orange, dark yellow, yellow, very dark green, dark green, light green (two shades, one replaces the other), dark blue, blue, light blue, purple, dark pink, pink, dark brown, brown, light brown, black, white; asymmetrical knot open to the left and tied around 2 warps; 198 knots to the sq. inch (3250 per sq. dm).
SIDE FINISH: one cord oversewn with dark pink wool.
END FINISH: missing.
DESIGN: Field: dark pink ground with vase design with two lattices: (1) dark blue, but yellow in the lower third (2) yellow but becomes pink in part of the 5th band. There are thin spiralling stems in dark green. There are three offset rows of large scalloped diamonds lying on the yellow lattice and 2 half rows along the sides; there are 6 complete bands. The diamonds are filled with various designs which change from band to band; from the lower end there are (1) large rosettes (2) palmette and pomegranate (3) palmette and floral split(4) half a vase and a lily (5) palmette (6) palmette. All with rosettes and saz leaves, except for those in the first band. Note: the scale of the design is enlarged after the first band. The design is symmetrical along the vertical axis but the colours vary across the axis. The dark blue lattice joins blossoms and fruit with complex fillings. The tendrils have rosettes and leaves.
Main border: dark blue ground with elaborate floral meander with dark yellow rosettes alternating with various blossoms with alternate blossoms framed by 2-coloured leaves.
Inner border: white ground, double floral meander with dark red flowers on a dark blue stem.
Outer border: reciprocal green/pink trefoils; the green contain two red dots and the pink contain 2 blue dots - except in the lower border where there are no dots.

Catalogue Date: 26.11.97

Purchased from Bon Marche department store, Paris.

The designer of this carpet has used two lattices to create a regularly repeating structure on which he drew flowers and leaves. The lattices are of different size and have been slightly off-set: the thicker one is predominantly yellow and the finer one is predominantly dark blue.

127-1884