London, Olympia, David Sylvester: The
Private Collection Sale L02959 lot 102
Large medallion Ushak rugs constitute one of the best-known and most handsome groups of Ottoman carpets, and testimony to the success of the design is the fact that it remained in favour from the second half of the fifteenth century until at least the late 18th century. As in so many areas of the decorative arts, however, it is the earlier examples of the group which are the most visually successful, in terms of their overall composition, the rendition of the design, and their use and range of colour. There is little doubt that this magnificent carpet fragment represents an early example within the group, dating from the early 16th Century, and comparable to other more well known blue ground medallion Ushak carpets such as those in the Musée du Louvre in Paris, the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection in Madrid, the al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait and a fragment in the Museum für Islamische Kunst in Berlin. All of these related early examples are dated to this period based on parallels in other areas of Islamic art. As Julian Raby argued at the 4th International Conference on Oriental Carpets, held in London in 1983, the design cartoons for the earliest large-medallion Ushak carpets were probably inspired by the blind-tooled medallions from the outer covers of Ottoman manuscripts dating from the 1460s. These medallions closely match those of such carpets from this group, especially in the drawing of their scrolling and interlocking vegetal forms. In the present lot these motifs are particularly delicate and beautiful. In his article in Hali 116 (May-June 2001), Carlo Suriano further explores the parallels between manuscript covers and Ushak medallions, pointing to the influence of Turkmen artists from Tabriz, who were moved to Istanbul by Mehmed II Fatih in 1473. The influence of these scribes on the bindings of royal manuscripts can be seen in the new rhomboid shapes of the pendants flanking the medallions, a style replicated in the design of the pendants flanking the medallion in the Sylvester fragment, and the other early carpets of this group. It is not surprising that for the last three decades this carpet has occupied a prominent position in David Sylvester's homes. The carpet was acquired from the Parisian art dealer, Samuel Tarica. At least one other great early medallion Ushak carpet passed through Tarica's hands: the Czartoryski-Altunian Ushak on a red ground with a 'Kufic' border, now in the Wher collection in Switzerland. For related fragments of a blue ground 16th Century Ushak medallion carpet see Eskenazi et al., Il Tappeto Orientale dal XV al XVIII Secolo, Milan 1982, pl. 13, p. 78. For a related example at auction, see 'The Cassirer Ushak Medallion Carpet' Sotheby's, London, 24th April 1996, lot 253. Like the Sylvester fragment, these examples share the comparatively rare colour combination of a madder medallion on a blue ground with yellow flowers. Picture and Information from www.Sothebys.com For Further Reading: Thanks and best wishes, J. Barry O'Connell Jr. |
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