This is a Persian masterpiece.
I recently had the chance to acquire the
collection of an old friend who has decided to
return to his home in Iran. He attributed this
beautiful Isfahan Carpet
to the Serafian work shop. This rug is fine even
for an Isfahan. The back
is very even and shows the signs of the best
workshop production. Comparing it with published
examples of SerafianIsfahan this certainly
looks like those pieces attributed to the second
generation Serafian
workshop.
The design is accentuated by an
overlay of spiral tendrils with arabesque
leaves. In my studies of classical carpets
I have seen over and over that most carpet
designs come from the east. No matter what I look
for it seems to be found earliest in Central Asia
or China. The exception is the Arabesque. These
leaves seem to be from the west in the areas
closest to the Mediterranean. I suspect that this
design came east with the spread of Islam. I
mention the Arabesque leaves because the focal
point of this piece is the extremely graceful and
balanced Islimis.
576 per square inch
(8928 per square decimeter).
Serafian (?) Isphahan Carpet. Isphahan, Persia. The
latter part of the Pahlavid dynasty (Post
W.W.II).
Size: 3 foot 6 inch by 5 foot 4 inch.
Structure: Asymmetrical knot open to the
left. 24 knots per horizontal inch and 24
knots per vertical inch. 576 per square inch
(8928 per square decimeter)
This rug is very fine
with a knot count of 576 per square inch
(8928 per square decimeter). The back is
also very even for an Isphahan. Please
note the carnations in the border.
There is a fine line
between City Carpets and Workshop
Carpets. A simple trick for non-experts
to recognize the difference is to look at
the corners. This carpet has perfectly
resolved corners so it is obviously the
product of a workshop with strict
adherence to the cartoon. City Carpets
will not generally show the same
meticulous attention to detail that we
expect in Workshop Carpets
