Doris Duke’s World Record Esfahan
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
As anticipated in our brief hali.com preview of today’s Christie’s New
York sale, the beautiful and historically significant Rainey Rogers/Duke
central Persian silk rug, probably woven in Esfahan in the late 16th
century, smashed the world record at public auction for an oriental carpet,
selling on the telephone for a well-deserved $4,450,500 (including
premiums), then trebling its high estimate (lot 37), and surpassing by a
fraction less than $2 million the price paid in July 1999 by the Museum of
Islamic Art in Qatar for the Rothschild Tabriz Medallion carpet. Due to the
wonders of modern technology, we were able, via the world wide web, to watch
the sale live from our London office, and even share a little of the
excitement.
The sale, which is still taking place as we write, began well, with lot 1, a
pentagonal white-ground Yomut Turkmen tree asmalyk, which realised $50,000,
more than four times its estimate. The first of the Doris Duke/Newport
Restoration Foundation carpets, lot 31, a large early 17th century
Portuguese armorial carpet, estimated at $20-30,000, was rapidly bid up to
$80,500, and the trend continued through to the next ten lots: lot 32, a
pomegranate design silk Yarkand, made $45,000 (estimate $12-18,000); then
followed a clutch of assorted rugs with low estimates, beginning with a
minimally attributed appliqué rug, which fetched $10,000 ($800-1,000). Lot
34, a Ukrainian mixed-technique runner soared to $12,500 ($2,000-3,000), as
did lot 35, a 17th century Cuenca ($4,000-6,000) and lot 36, a pale-blue
grounf Ziegler ($6,000-8,000).
After the Esfahan silk, a large Agra lattice design carpet from the solarium
of Duke’s Newport house, Rough Point, more than quadrupled its $10-15
estimate to fetch $80,500, and in the sole instance of a Duke rug failing to
exceed its pre-sale expectation, a typical 17th century red-ground Esfahan
cloudband and palmette carpet sold for only $116,500 against its
$120-180,000 estimate. To round off the Duke rugs, lot 41, a tauk nuska göl
Yomut main carpet, was probably a bargain at $30,000
($15-20,000). Thereafter, things returned to `normal’ with more prosaic
rug
PROPERTY FROM THE DORIS DUKE COLLECTION AND THE NEWPORT RESTORATION
FOUNDATION (LOTS 31-41)
PROVENANCE
>From Kouchakji Frères, New York
Mrs. Rainey Rogers, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 18-20 November 1943,
lot 407
Hagop Kevorkian
Anonymous, Sothebys New York, 8 December 1990, lot 54
LITERATURE
The Art News, New York, June 14, 1930, title page
Diamond, M. S., Loan Exhibition of Persian Rugs of the so-called Polish Type,
New York, 1930, no. 15, plate 1
McCleary, William H., Polish Rugs from Persia, The Antiquarian, XV, 1930, p. 62
Pope, A. U., A Survey of Persian Art, London and New York, 1939, vol. III,
pp. 2397-9 and illustrated in color, vol. VI, pl. 1261
Spuhler, Friedrich, Seidene Reprasentationsteppiche der mittleren bis spaten
Safwiden Seit-Die soq. Polenteppiche,
Berlin, 1968, no. 141
LOT NOTES
Warp: silk, ivory, Z2S, alternate warp strongly depressed
Weft: silk, ivory, 1 strand of unspun silk, 3 shoots
Pile: silk, asymmetrical knot open to the left
Density: 24-26 horizontal, 33-37 vertical per sq. in.
Sides: silk, 1 cord of 2 warps each, overcast in wine Ends: Incomplete
Colors: citrine, cashew, taupe, indigo, sand, cornflower, teal, mushroom,
pale to deep raspberry, celery, cranberry, tumeric, pale aqua, balsam green,
peacock blue, acorn, black (17)
This luminescent Isfahan rug is a magnificent example of the apex of Safavid
art during the reign of Shah Abbas (1587 – 1629). It is remarkable not only
for its luminescent beauty, but also for its intricate design and
construction. Noted scholars Arthur Upham Pope and Phyllis Ackerman
included the rug, then in the collection of Grace Rainey Rogers, in their
seminal work, A Survey of Persian Art written in 1930. Pope wrote eloquently
and poetically in detail about this rug commenting "Nothing further in the
way of refinement, imagination, perfection of technique, or infinite charm
of colour was produced in this period" (Pope and Ackerman, p. 2397).
The use of silk for both the warps and the wefts allows for an intricate and
graceful double system of scrolling arabesque vinery and tendrils. The
central medallion is very subtle allowing the rug at first glance to read as
an overall infinite trellis design. If the center medallion were in its
original condition it would probably have the effect of a blossom or lily
pad floating on a pool. The variety of blossoms, leaves and vines make for
dynamism unparalleled in carpets of this period. In addition to blossoms,
Pope notes "half invisible cloudbands flutter in and out with random grace"
(p. 2398). The border is equally as elegant. The spiral arabesques
terminating in split-leaf tendrils are overlapped by refined and unusual
"pin-wheel" rosettes. Corner resolution, often difficult with a complicated
design, is handled with finesse creatinga robust flow to the border.
The range of colors used here is far more expansive and harmonious than is
usually seen in carpets of this period. Many of the colors belong to the
yellow spectrum producing an overall subtlety that is countered by the
boldness of the darker shades of emerald green, dark brown and scarlet red
as well as the high notes of white and light blue. As Pope concludes: "the
mellow golden glow that emanatesis no accident but the result of
exceptionally careful planning, a remarkable blending of tonal effect, the
whole guided by perfect taste." (p. 2398).
When sold in 1990, this rug was catalogued as Kashan, but current opinion
considers it to have been woven in Isfahan, established as the capital in .
Although our example is reminiscent of the small silk Kashan group from
the16th century in terms of draftsmanship, the overall tonality and design
are more reminiscent of the "Polonaise" group of carpets which are securely
attributed to Isfahan.
However, the present rug is far finer and more exquisitely drawn than almost
all "Polonaise" examples suggesting an earlier date for this Isfahan rug.
Michael Franses asserts in his article Earthsong (, 14
December2007) that this rug, along with the Liechtenstein and the
Czartoryski Isfahans (Pope and Ackerman, pls. 1242 and 1243), form a group
that is the prototype of cotton-warped ‘Polonaise’ rugs. All three have a
two-plane system of arabesque and tendril vinery; however, our rug is a
departure from the other two in relation to construction. Whereas the
Czartoryski and Liechtenstein examples are silk pile on a metal-thread
ground, the Isfahan offered here is made completely of fine silk. Because of
this salient difference, ours seems more delicate and refined in drawing and
execution. It can be further suggested that this small group acts as the
link between the earlier 16th century silk Kashan and the typical Isfahan
‘Polonaise’ rugs. For an example of a small silk Kashan nowin the Al-Thani
Collection in Doha, please see The Collection of The Barons Nathaniel and
Albert von Rothschild, Christie’s London, 8 July 1999, lot 190.
It is not difficult to imagine that because of the finesse of weave,
delicacy of design, subtlety of color and overall harmonious balance this
rug was originally intended for a dignitary or as a diplomatic gift. The rug
continued to maintain an esteemed provenance residing in the collection of
Grace Rainey Rogers, Hagop Kevorkian and most recently, Doris Duke and The
Newport Restoration Foundation.
There is no question that this is a masterpiece of Safavid art. The rarity
together with the exquisite drawing and variation of a single tonality
makethis one of the most elegant and compelling rugs of the Shah Abbas
period.
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