Extremely Fine Rare Persian Qum Silk Carpet – Signed

An Extremely Fine and Rare Persian Qum Silk Carpet, Central Persia, Silk on Silk Foundation, Signed

Mid 20th Century

An exceptionally fine and rare Persian Qum carpet, woven in silk on silk foundation, displays exceptionally fine details of architectural and floral forms presented in a comprehensive range of jewel like colours.

 Displaying an architectural design, the aquamarine with a multi layered poly chrome circular medallion surrounded by pointed arches enclosing a mass of varying poly chrome flowering vines and raceme supporting ogival vases emitting dense floral millefleurs surrounded by a complementary millefleurs border including trifoliate medallions, a blue outer surround with arcaded floral arches, an inscription cartouche to one end,

The city of Qum is a recently established centre for the production of urban style rugs with workshops appearing there from around 1927 onwards. It rapidly became a significant and important centre for the creation of technically fine silk rugs and carpets, though fine wool pile rugs are also made there. The repertoire of their designs is varied, ranging from designs based on Safavid Persian traditions of the 16th and 17th Centuries, through to individual creative designs of unparalleled technical and artistic visual excellence, which can often be described as ground breaking. The fine silk used in their rugs allows the highly skilled weavers to draw exceptional precise detail often in minute scale.

This magnificent Persian Qum carpet carpet dating to the mid 20th Century exhibits true characteristics of this Revivalist approach to rug design made with the best possible quality materials, and the broadest possible range of jewel like colours. The design displays an architectural pattern based on the elaborate interior decoration of a tin glazed ceramic tiled mosque dome ceiling or interior arch. These tiles are ornately decorated in bright complementary colours displaying traditional floral forms similar to those seen in carpet pattern details. 16th and 17th Century Persian Mosque ceilings, arches and walls were invariably embellished in this way. Historic Isfahan Mosques displaying such elaborate and stunning decoration include the Shah Mosque 1629, Janchi Mosque, 1610, the Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque, 1618, and the Khaju Bridge, 1650, constructed with twenty four highly decorated arches, constructed under the auspices of Shah Abbas II around 1650. All these wonderful buildings would inevitably have been used as inspiration for the weavers of exceptionally fine Persian Tabriz carpets in Classical times and also in the finest 20th Century Revivalist times as is clearly the case in this beautiful impressive Persian Qum Carpet woven in finest possible quality of silk. The definition of the pattern details are beautifully drawn, artistically cleverly arranged with the intricately detailed central circular medallion woven with intricate floral details surrounded by vases offering a profusion of swirling flowering vines and raceme. Each vase is decorated in exceptional detail with an arrangement of conjoined arabesques and palmettes reminiscent. The border continues the theme of floral profusion with the addition of trifoliate motifs, made up of a pair of curled boteh linked together and centered by a floral pendant. The origins of this motif date back to the classical era of the 17th century. The colours are from a traditional extensive Persian Qum Carpet colour palette. The colours used in this Persian Qum carpet are verging on endless, and tones have been juxtaposed to create an exceptional visual ‘tour de force’, consistent with the very best of Persian Qum artistry and exemplary skill of the weavers.

A truly remarkable artistic achievement both technically and from an artistic point of view which makes this Persian Qum carpet a rare and outstanding example of Persian ‘revivalist’ woven art.

Extremely Fine, Rare, Signed Persian Qum Carpet. This piece was handwoven in Qum , Iran. For further information please contact us and our team will be pleased to assist you. All pieces in the collection are under the auspices of Essie Sakhai, one of the world’s foremost experts and collectors of fine handmade Persian rugs and carpets.