M. S. Dimand attributes this carpet to India circa 1600 and notes the relationship between this carpet and the The Widener Mughal Animal Carpet and the Ames Mughal Hunting Carpet. 3. With Persian carpets of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries we generally expect to see that the carpet is symmetrical on it's vertical and horizontal axis's. So with such a carpet one quarter of the carpet is the size of the design repeat. This carpet is clearly a different design composition. While it is easy to suppose stylistic differences because of geography I decided to check with a weaving expert to see if their is another explanation. I called Marla Mallet 4. who is a expert on structure and weaving. Mallet was kind enough to explain to me that the reason for this rugs to appear stylistically as an assemblage of unrelated designs was symptomatic of the types of cartoons used. Marla pointed out that this was caused by using a number of small cartoons rather than one large cartoon. Peter Stone notes that the cartouche border is a design seen in tile work from early seventeenth century Agra. 5. 1. Sarre and Trenkwald note a ply count of 2 whereas Ellis puts this in a group with high ply count warped rugs. Sarre Friedrich and Trenkwald, Hermann. Old Oriental Carpets. (Vienna:Anton Schroll & Co. 1929), plate 155, and F. R. Martin, "A History Of Oriental Carpets Before 1800." Oriental Rug Review Vol. VI, No. 3 June 1986 p. 17/65a. 2.. F. R. Martin, "A History Of Oriental Carpets Before 1800." Oriental Rug Review Vol. VI, No. 3 June 1986 p. 17/65a. 3. Dimand, M. S. Ph. D. A Handbook of Muhammadan Art. (New York, 1958 The Metropolitan Museum of Art,, third edition.), p. 303 - 306. 4. Mallet, Marla, Telephone conversation August 1997. 5. Stone, Peter. The Oriental Rug Lexicon. (Seattle, University of Washington Press, 1997), p. 193. Carpets With High Ply Count Cotton Warps, The Widener Mughal Animal Carpet For Further Reading: Thanks and best wishes, J. Barry O'Connell Jr. |
