Extremely Fine Indian Agra Carpet

Rug #7100
Size: 508 x 300 cm / 16.7 x 9.8 ft
Age: 
Handwoven in: 
Categories:   ,
POA

Fine Indian Agra carpet, light complexion, all over delicate design, soft wool on cotton foundation

Indian carpet production during the 17th Century Moghul era was from small Imperial ateliers made chiefly for royal or aristocratic commissions. Such production effectively ceased by the early 19th Century. From the mid 19th Century Indian carpet production began to revive as a much more commercial activity and predominantly stemmed from the country’s jails. Lahore jail produced carpets that were displayed at the International Exhibition in London in 1862 and by the time of the 1888 Glasgow International exhibition, the list given of Indian places producing carpets as detailed by a certain T.N. Mukherji in literature written on the exhibits was very extensive. Significantly, the list included private manufactories as well as over twenty jails. The most important and significant of these jails were Agra, Lahore, Yeraoda, and Montgomery, identified for the production of particularly fine decorative carpets. Mukherji also stated that ‘the old Persian patterns are generally copied in the jails.’ The earliest jail products were copies of classical Persian of the 16th and 17th centuries selected from the collection of the Maharaja of Jaipur. The 1892 Vienna exhibition catalogue of carpets also provided a rich source of material of designs for this rapidly developing Indian carpet producing industry. Apart from the exceptionally high quality of the materials including the dye stuffs, the Jail designs rapidly evolved, and unique ‘takes’ on Classical models began to appear. These ‘takes’ were to become highly sought after in Western markets and there is no doubting their individual designs are stunningly potent and appealing, establishing the ‘jail’ group of Indian carpets as highly important in the history of carpet production.

 

Indian Agra Rug. This piece was handwoven in India. 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.

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