Karekin Beshir, New York
Mr. and Mrs. Lammot du Pont Copeland, Mount Cuba, Delaware

Pile generally low to knothead overall with oxidation and wear showing foundation scattered throughout. 10in. by 3in. reweave lower left of field, with smaller reweaves scattered throughout. Several generations of repiling, some now more faded: pepiling to burgundies and dark blues and some scattered repiling overall. Repaired slits. Missing outer guardstriped on sides; now with partially rewoven guardstripes and reselvages. Partially rewoven end guard borders. Flexible handle, sound fabric, restored and ready for use. Please note that a license may be required to export textiles, rugs and carpets of Iranian origin from the United States. Clients should enquire with the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regarding export requirements. Please check with the Carpet department if you are uncertain as to whether a lot is subject to this restriction or if you need assistance.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The combination of split-leaf arabesque vinery in the field within a palmette-cartouche and strapwork border on this carpet is found on few other Safavid weavings, with the most similar example being a Tabriz carpet formerly in the Berlin Staatliche Museum and lost during World War II, see Arthur Upham Pope, A Survey of Persian Art, New York and London, 1939, vol. VI, pl. 1124. The field pattern itself appears in a few related examples including a Tabriz medallion carpet once in the Charles T. Yerkes collection and now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, see M. Dimand and J. Mailey, Oriental Rugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1973, cat. no. 1, fig. 59, p. 39 and a related carpet fragment sold in these rooms, September 20, 2001, lot 2 also published in Pope, op.cit., pl. 1123.  The strapwork and palmette cartouche border is found on several Safavid carpets with the most renowned being the Poldi-Pezzoli carpet in Milan, see Pope, ibid, pl. 1118. Here, the border recalls those on the carpets known as the ‘Portuguese’ group, for one example from this distinct group in the Winterthur Museum in Delaware, see Deborah Kraak, “The Head Gardener’s Carpets,” Hali, Issue 89, p. 92, pl. 2.  The border system on the present carpet and those of the ‘Portuguese’ carpets, display more stylized drawing than those attributed to Tabriz, as well as differing inner and outer guard borders.
In the carpet offered here, the field is overlaid in an endless repeat of quatrefoil medallions and partial medallions in the manner of early Anatolian carpets, in particular those woven in Oushak with the "Star" design. For an example, see Grant Charles Ellis, Oriental Carpets in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, 1988, pl. 22.  Here, however, the lobed medallions as well as the bold split-leaf arabesques and slightly angular vinery confirm this carpets' Northwest Persian origins.  The wide range and juxtaposition of jewel-like colors found here is another hallmark of Safavid carpets, generally more typical of carpets woven in Khorossan on the Eastern side of Persia.  The confluence of design influences exhibited by the present carpet is not atypical for carpets woven during the seventeenth century, when weavers and designers moved between court workshops throughout Safavid Persia and beyond, with exchanges between Persia and both Ottoman Turkey and Mughal India. The overall endless repeat medallion pattern in the present carpet (as well as the freedom with which the border is drawn, where the strapwork is unusually spacious and punctuated by stylized ogee cloudbands) appears to be unique, with no other examples in published literature to date. This carpet is therefore an exciting addition to the known corpus of Safavid Persian production.