Dragon Rugs: Prototypical Dragon Carpet Dated 1592

Prototypical Dragon Carpet Dated 1592

I have come to the conclusion that there should be carpets dating to around 1600 that are related to the Persian type while beginning to show those signs of degenerative design divergence. There is a dated carpet in the Textile Museum that fits my profile for this early transitional phase Dragon Carpet. The carpet Textile Museum R.36.1.4 is dated November 15, 1592. The late Charles Grant Ellis suggested a somewhat later date for the carpet. With my incredible respect for Ellis, I must note that I find his dating argument in respect to this piece less than compelling. He suggests that it is a later copy by an uneducated weaver who somehow draws the animals on the carpet closer to their 15th and 16th century forebears. Whether this rug is a late 16th century transitional dragon Rug or a nineteenth century copy is immaterial if this is a later copy I still believe that carpets like Textile Museum R.36.1.4 must have been created that looked like Textile Museum R.36.1.4 and would date to when this one was dated.

• Size: L. 4.45 m. (14',7") x W. 1.83 m. (6'0").
• Warp: Z2S wool in a light natural range with occasional dark fibers. One level.
• Weft: Z2S wool in natural mixtures, dyed a good red. Two shots, sometimes three.
• Pile: 2Z wool. Gordes knotted, pile lies straight. 8 horiz. x l0 1/2 vert. per in. (85 per sq.in.).
• Sides: Cut.
• Ends: Cut
• Colors: Ivory; black-brown; brown, yellow-orange; yellow; dark brick and light rose reds; dark medium and light medium blues; blue-green; light yellow-green; dull light violet.
• Condition: Some areas rewoven and a great deal of reknotting, now faded. Outer guard lost. Wear has been especially severe along the center line.