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London, Olympia, David Sylvester: The Private Collection Sale L02959 lot 35
Two Cairene carpet fragments, Ottoman Egypt, mid 16th century London, Bond Street 800—1,200 GBP Session 1, 26 Feb 02 2:30 PM MEASUREMENTS 104 by 104cm., 3ft. 5in. by 3ft. 5in. and the other 104 by 100cm., 3ft. 5in. by 3ft. 3in. DESCRIPTION The present two fragments belong to a group of carpets generally attributed to Cairo after the Mamluk sultanate in Egypt was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1517. The carpets which where produced in the carpet workshops of Cairo from this time onwards were very similar in construction to earlier Mamluk carpets but were artistically influenced by Ottoman designs. For a discussion of this group see Pinner, R. and Franses, M., East Mediterranean Carpets in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Hali, Vol.4, no.1, 1981, pp.39-40. These two fragments have a yellow dyed wool foundation and the restricted Mamluk colour palette comprising of lac red for the field and golden yellow, moss-green and touches of ivory and blue for the design elements which was typical of Mamluk production. The design has, however, departed from Mamluk geometrical compositions to a floral style shared with other Ottoman arts and crafts of the period and particularly textile and ceramic art. In the second quarter of the 16th century this floral style became known as the 'saz' style, see Gürsu, N., The Art of Turkish Weaving, Istanbul, 1988, pp.64-66. A Gülistani kemha caftan from the third quarter of the 16th century shows a comparable floral design to the two fragments in the use of the 'hatayi' flower design and sharp pointed lanceolate leaves typical of the 'saz' style, see Gürsu, op.cit. p.56, pl.30. For a complete carpet of similar design see Spuhler, F., Islamic Carpets and Textiles in the Keir Collection, London, 1978, p.71, No.33. Picture and Information from www.Sothebys.com For Further Reading: Thanks and best wishes, J. Barry O'Connell Jr. |
