Private Collection;
Formerly: Private Collection, Karlsruhe;
Rippon Boswell, Wiesbaden, sale by private treaty

Eiland, M.L., Jr. and Robert Pinner, eds., Oriental Carpet and Textile Studies, vol. V, part 2: The Salting Carpets, ICOC, 1999, no. 47, colour plate 7, pg.99

Colours in the catalogue photograph are a fairly accurate match tonally. The ivory colour of the ground in the cartouches with script is less startling and creamier in reality. The yellow ground of the narrow script bands is lighter and more attractive. This applies to the yellow of the fruit in lower section, the yellow in the vase, and the highlight edges of the large motif above the vase. There are minute spot areas of old moth damage in the border and in particular to the ivory/cream ground of the script cartouches and cream ground in the lower section. In addition there are small holes and areas of pile loss in the caramel coloured ground areas in the top corners and half way down the sides. There are horizontal and vertical consolidation threads applied to the areas of distress in these caramel areas in the top corners and above and below the horizontal cartouche. These silk threads are only visible on close inspection. To the caramel area around the lobed cartouche in the top right corner there is a small shaped hole (2cm. wide, 0.8cm. high to left, and 0.3cm. high to the right), and to the bottom right of the lobed cartouche there is a rectangular hole ( 3cm. wide, 0.4cm. high), both with a complimentary coloured caramel silk visible underneath. The narrow strips of caramel coloured ground above and below the main horizontal cream ground cartouche with script have areas of loss, visible in the photograph as the lighter area showing the complimentary coloured silk which is underneath. There are some consolidation threads to this area and a small hole lower right (1cm. wide, 0.5cm. high). Metal thread used in areas across the rug: to the script for example that in the cerise outer border, to the surround of the niche, highlight in the vase neck, flowers and leaf motifs in the narrow green and outer cerise borders. The metal thread is tarnished, but in reality there is some sparkle dependent on the angle of the light. There is an area within the lobed cartouche top right corner, where the vertical line/join (approx. 3.4cm.) between the metal ground and the wool pile has opened up to the top left of the lobe and has opened up horizontally across the top by 1cm. There is an area of the ground with script around the niche, to the left side, which is a different colour as visible in the photograph, and there is a join from one side of the metal thread ground band to the other outer edge (approx. 4cm. wide). There are areas of loss to the top and bottom metal thread end finishes as visible in the photograph, and all the corners are damaged. There are small nicks to the sides and two small sections of loss to the cerise pile at the edge on the right side half way down (approx. 1cm. by 1.4cm) and stepped section (approx. 2cm. high, 2.5cm. wide), both with later cerise velvet behind. The rug has been professionally applied to a caramel coloured silk panel, mounted with Velcro onto a wooden stretcher. It can be removed from the stretcher to be rolled. There is thin wooden panel at the back against the rug. There is a viewing window at the back (approximately 12cm by 12cm.). There is slight corrosion to the black area of pile overall. The pile overall is otherwise in very good condition and evenly sheared overall. It is probably still very close to its original height of pile (1 - 1.5mm overall). This rug is an iconic example of its genre.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Inscriptions:
Qur'anic inscriptions in different scripts
Outer border:  Koran, II, 285-6
Main border:   Koran, II, 255
Inner border:  Koran, VII, 204-6
Band forming arch: Koran, XVII, 78; IV, 103; LXVIII, 51-2
Cartouche in arch: God is Most Great, Most High
Field around arch: Koran, LIX, 23, followed by more Attributes of God
Top rosettes in main border, in seal Kufic, in positive (right), and negative (left): Glory to God, and praise be to God, and there is no god, but The God, and God is Most Great
Middle squares in main border, in seal Kufic, in positive (right), and negative ( left): The Prophet, peace be upon him said: Exaltation to the command of God, and compassion upon the creatures of God.(See Eiland and Pinner, opcit., pp. 121-122, A💞ppendix D: Inscriptions on Persian Niche Carpets.)

This rug is one of the corpus of Safavid Persian niche rugs previously regarded as part of the 'Salting' or 'Topkapi' group of rugs.  Named for a carpet bequeathed to the Victoria and Albert Museum by George Salting upon his death in 1909, the attribution and dating of this group of rugs fell into question in the mid-20^th century with some scholars suggesting they were copies of Safavid work manufactured in late 19^th century Turkey.  Revered by early scholars such as A. U. Pope, F.R. Martin, F. Sarre, E. Kühnel, W. von Bode and G. Migeon they were considered superb examples of Safavid weaving.  When these rugs appeared on the market they were purchased by renowned collectors such as Charles Yerkes, Dikran Kelekian, Albert Goupil, Stefano Bardini and E. Paravicini; with several of them now in institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Carpet Museum in Tehran, and the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.   In 1999 Michael Franses studied and documented the 89 then known niche rugs of Persian design that were considered part of the 'Salting' or 'Topkapi' group, see Eiland, M.L., Jr. and Robert Pinner, eds., Oriental Carpet and Textile Studies, vol. V, part 2: The Salting Carpets, ICOC, 1999, pp. 42-67.   

These rugs all feature a Persian design and, as in the example here, the majority (70) includes calligraphic inscriptions, with 41 examples having metal thread brocading, ibid, p. 53.  Thirty-five of these prayer rugs remain in the collection of the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul, with at least 20 now in Western museums and collections believed to have once also been in the Topkapi collection, ibid, p. 42. These rugs were most probably sold by the Topkapi palace during the throws of the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78, see Mills, John, The Salting Group: a History and Clarification, ibid, pg. 10.   The authors further present evidence that the 'Salting' or 'Topkapi' rugs are the product of Safavid Persia with the confirming support of Carbon 14 dating results. Scholarship now accepts that these rugs were indeed produced during the Safavid period; more recent discussions of the carpet group being Jon Thompson, Milestones in the History of Carpets, Milan, 2006, pp. 220-223; "Auction Price Guide," Hali, issue 144, p. 115 and Sheila R. Canby, Shah 'Abbas; the Remaking of Iran, London, 2009, pp. 80-81.

It is possible to form sub groups based on direct correlation between the numbers of shared structural features and the closeness of relationship between examples. The present rug, illustrated in Eiland and Pinner, op.cit., no. 47, colour plate 7, pg. 99, as The Karlsruhe Rug, shares its overall design directly with a Topkapi Saray Niche Rug (no. 46 – Istanbul inv. No. 13/2162), illustrated ibid. no. 46, pg.91, and another Topkapi Saray Niche Rug (no. 10 – Istanbul inv. No. 13/2051), 16^th century, illustrated ibid. no. 31, pg.93.

Comparable Topkapi Saray Niche Rugs 

Safavid prayer rugs such as the example offered here rarely appear on the market, with the most recent example being a silk and metal thread Safavid Prayer rug (163 by 110cm., 5ft. 4in. by 3ft. 7in.), from the Collection of Rudolf Martin (1864-1925), (renowned Anthropology professor, who taught at the University of Zurich and the University of Munich, and wrote the handbook, Lehrbuch der Anthropologie in Systematischer Darstellung, Mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der anthropologischen Methoden fur Studierende, Ärzte und Forschungsreisende, first published in 1914 and re-printed in 1928 and 1956),  and thence by descent. It was sold at Sotheby's, London, 7^th October 2009, lot 276, and shared its unusual asymmetric design with one of the Salting rugs known as the "Dancing Dervishes Persian Niche Rug" now in the Mevlana Museum, Konya, see Eiland and Pinner, op.cit., no. 55, p. 101. 

Another recent example market being the 'Perez "Topkapi" wool and metal thread prayer rug,' sold Christie's London, 13 October 2005, lot 50, subsequently published in Thompson, op.cit., pl. 22 and most recently included in the British Museum exhibition, "Shah 'Abbas; the Remaking of Iran," 19 February to 14 June 2009, and accompanying catalogue, see Sheila R. Canby, op.cit., pl. 45, pp. 80-81.

The British Museum exhibition, "Shah 'Abbas; the Remaking of Iran," 19 February to 14 June 2009, and accompanying catalogue, see Sheila R. Canby, op.cit., 122, pp.248-249, also exhibited a prayer rug, 17^th century with wool and metal-thread, from the Collection of Moshe Tabibnia, and a comparable illustrated prayer rug, 17^th century, from the Museum of the Shrine of Faimeh Ma`sumeh in Qum. The present example sharing features of the border design type and the top field patchwork design with the Museum example, and the lower mihrab design with assymetrical scrolls and vase with the exhibited private collection rug, previously published Eiland and Pinner, op.cit., The Paris Niche Rug, Private 🐓Collection Switzerland, no. 30, colour plate 5, pp. 91-92.

Structural Analysis:

Warp:  silk, Z spun, 2 ply, dyed yellow
Weft: silk, Unspun, dyed pale yellow, 2 shoots
Pile: wool, Z spun, 2S ply, 8645 asymmetric knots per dm2.
Metal brocading: silk, 2Zw plied, undyed, S wrapped with flat silver metal strip
Upper end: approx: 18mm brocading of warp threads wrapped in two plied strands of silk wrapped silver metal thread strip, interspersed with charcoal wool wrapping to form calligraphy
Lower end: approx. 2 mm undyed silk weft faced kilim and 15mm silver metal thread and charcoal wool calligraphy warp wrapping (similar to upper end finish)
Colours: Ivory, light tan, golden yellow, dark orange, grass green, blue green, pale sky blue, dark blue, rose pink, crimson, charcoal (11)

Laid and couched to light tan silk ground, mounted on stretcher, some breaks and losses to sides and ends, oxidised charcoals

Dye Analysis:

Tan: tannin; golden yellow: mordant yellow;
Orange: mordant orange: grass green: mordant yellow+ indigotin;
Blue green: mordant yellow+indigotin;
Pale blue: indigotin: dark blue: indigotin;
Pink: insect red;
Red: lac;
Black: tannin

[spectrophotometry and thin layer chromatography by Textile Research Associates, York, 1995]

Carbon-14 Dating:

1488-1662 AD (95% confidence –See Eiland and Pinner, opcit., pp. 116-117, Appendix C: Carbon Dating).