Tabriz Antique Carpets, Part One

Tabriz Antique Carpet

The major city of Tabriz, located near the Turkish border, is the center of classically designed antique carpets in Northwest Persia. At the foot of the beautiful Elbruz Mountains, Tabriz has a noteworthy history, both as the Persian market center most linked geographically to European and Western commerce, and as the source of the most venerated antique carpets: the inspired antique Oriental carpets of the Shah Abbas period during the 15th and 16th centuries.

With such auspicious beginnings, during the second half of the 19th century, the city boasted some of the most famous antique carpet weaving masters such as Kurban Dai, Sheik Safi, Faradji. and most notably, the luminary Hadji Jallil, all of whom were responsible for the reclamation of this celebrated past by reinventing a truly memorable antique carpet production.

Serapi Rugs, Part 2

 
Until they began rising in value in the 1980's, Serapis were an inexpensive alternative to classical floral antique Oriental carpets that were often used in heavily trafficked areas of the home. This use helped to soften the color, giving the Serapi antique carpet the muted tonalities they are renowned for by collectors and interior designers around the world.

The heavy use that Serapis often withstood also meant that significant restoration commonly was necessary to preserve many of the finest pieces. If antique carpet care is done skillfully and thoroughly, restoration not only allows the continued use of these majestic carpets, but also increases their investment value. 19th century pieces with only a moderate amount of skillfully executed restoration are quite rare and, if of excellent quality and strong artistic impact, are extremely desirable.

Antique Oriental carpets of Serapi are usually found in the room size format from 9x12 to 11x14. Happily, oversize Serapis measuring 11x15 to 12x18 are sometimes found, and the best examples woven pre-1900 are deeply prized. Very occasionally extremely large antique examples woven in sizes up to 16x 26 can be found. Area-size Serapis, measuring 4ft x 5ft to 5ft x 6ft 6in are very seldom encountered and cherished by connoisseurs. Although rarely found, Serapis runners and keleges (corridor-size runners) make stunning complements to decors featuring room size or oversize Serapis.

Having had the pleasure to place so many of these wonderful carpets, we can attest to the magical element they bring to a wide range of decors. The rarity of the best Serapi antique rugs with pure vegetable dyes, graphic designs and inspired artistry make them excellent investments, occupying an important position in both the American and international art markets.

Serapi rugs, Part 1

Fine antique oriental 19th-century Serapis include some of the most desirable and rare antique carpets in larger sizes. Woven in the rugged mountains of Northwest Persia, Serapis are a distinct Heriz region style of antique oriental rugs, with finer knotting and more large-scale spaciously placed designs than other rugs from this area.

Antique Oriental Serapi Rug

Although it was the grandest of the antique oriental carpets in the Heriz styles, Serapi style antique carpets are seldom seen after 1910, because of the remoteness of the mountains in Northwest Persia presented. Antique carpets had to be taken by their weavers to Serab, 30 miles distant, to be marketed. "Serapi" is not a place or tribal name; rather it is a market term derived from "Serab-i," meaning "of Serab".

Serapi antique carpets combine design elements borrowed from many traditions. The bold geometric designs are probably connected to the antique oriental carpet tradition of tribal Caucasians across the Aras River to the north. The elegant court carpets of Tabriz to the west certainly would have influenced the weavers' understanding of balance and the central medallion format of an antique oriental carpet.

Serapi antique carpets were woven on the level of a family or small workshop with multiple weavers working several years to complete each antique oriental carpet. The weaving was done almost exclusively by women. Highly skilled artisans, they continually reinterpreted the design as they wove, creating highly spontaneous and inventive artistry in each antique carpet. In general, the Serapi antique carpets made in small workshops are more finely woven and formal, and pieces woven on a family level are more rustic and symbolic in design.

The women of this area were master dyers able to deeply dye the superb, silky, local wool with a great range of soft-shaded or "abrashed" color. The wide palette of hues in the antique carpets came from many carefully brewed plants and minerals, colors for which the recipes are now lost. Watermelon to terra cotta tones came from madder root. The blue tones, from sky and aqua to periwinkle and deep navy, came from the indigo plant. Gold and yellow tones are from chamomile and a variety of other plants. The weavers also frequently used large areas of undyed and unbleached wool, whose ivory and camel tones provided contrast to the wide range of vegetable color in the antique oriental carpet.

Sultanabad Rugs, Part 2

Ivory Sultanabads often possess a charming naiveté, along with a palette based in undyed sheep's wool, in hues of ivory, cream and beige. Often with lattice works of vinery and flowerheads in soft pastels, a secondary drama of shading is played out in marvelous color striations otherwise known as ‘abrash'. The finest and hardest to find of both the ivory ground pieces, and the entire Sultanabad group use allover designs of spaciously placed, extremely overscale blossoms, asymmetrically arranged across a sparsely adorned field.

Antique Oriental Sultanabad Carpet, 10ft 10in x 17ft 2in, Circa 1900
A captivating collection of deeply harmonious hues brings an elevated sense of artistry to this tour-de-force antique Persian Sultanabad carpet. Its dazzling array of warm, joyful colors include naturally dyed apricot, cobalt blue, apple green, persimmon and sky blue. This exquisite palette is perfectly paired with a cool ivory field to allow each tone to be fully experienced. A compelling, balanced allover design adds welcome structure to this virtuoso display, augmented by the crisp clarity that its very fine weave makes possible. This extremely noteworthy oversize Oriental carpet came to us in virtually perfect, heavy-pile condition.

In the late 1870s, a new style of Sultanabad was developed as a result of venture capital money invested by Ziegler & Co. of Manchester, England, which subsidized one-of-a-kind commissioned pieces particularly for export to England and France. This resulted in the noted "Ziegler Sultanabad" style. Distinguished by a significantly finer weave and thinner fabric, and stylish, allover patterns in delicate color, Zieglers met with great success in Europe, immediately recognized by the more decoratively inclined Western markets. Although based on classical Persian patterns, Zieglers offer delightfully inspired English translations, often to impressive overscale proportions.

Zieglers are beloved among many fine interior designers and art lovers for their marriage of causal motifs and superlative craftsmanship. Yet, another school among connoisseurs prefers the more loosely woven, heavier piled "village" Sultanabads for their highly abstracted, naive renditions of both tribal motifs and traditional Persian Court and Garden designs.

Exemplary Sultanabad carpets are preferred by many for their originality and inspired artistry, and have forged an important niche in today's decorative market for their compatibility and versatility with the finest interiors and other works of art. Because of their rarity, desirability and innovative spirit, the best 19th-century and turn-of-the-20th-century pieces will continue to grow as art investments for many decades to come.

Sultanabad Rugs, Part 1

Sultanabad carpets from the 19th century and turn of the 20th century have become perhaps the most desirable among Persian village weavings, as they appeal strongly to both connoisseurs and interior designers. These two important groups of buyers are attracted to them as outstanding examples of casual, surprisingly contemporary designs and for their sophisticated, yet often whimsical, highly decorative aesthetic. As a result, the best antique examples have become very difficult to find in the international market.

Often the finest in the antique Sultanabad style render spacious, very unique variations upon classical Persian allover patterns, such as the Herati (repeated diamond and curling leaf), the Mina Khani (repeated circular flowerhead) and Harshang (highly stylized dragon and blossom), often in subtle, glowing pastels and earth tones. Finally, a small number of pieces can be found that employ wonderfully detailed renditions of the beloved Mustafvai (stylized “Garden of Paradise”) motif. Most Sultanabads feature these flowing, allover motifs, while a small number present the central medallion format, seen often in other Persian carpet styles.

The carpets from Sultanabad were a product of the cottage industry in and around this Northwest Persian village and were often produced on the family level. Therefore, they usually use a moderate weave, and somewhat thicker pile, similar to tribal and nomadic rugs. Nevertheless, they have now taken an equal seat beside the highly reputed and more finely knotted Ferahan and Mahajiran Sarouk styles from this same Arak district.

An even more exclusive class in the Sultanabad style, referred to as the “Ivory Sultanabads” for their glowing ivory to beige grounds, are now considered to be among the most highly desired carpets on the international market with good reason, for in their finest examples, their visual impact of dramatically drawn motifs against the lighter base is often beyond compare. Nineteenth-century Ivory Sultanabads are found mostly in the 9ft x 12ft to 10ft 6in x 14ft size, and larger examples create quite a stir if they are beautifully conceived and in good floor condition.

Bakshaish Rugs, Part 2

Bakshaish carpets were the product of the Persian home craft, often woven in roomsize (typically 9ft x 11ft to 11ft x 14ft) on a loom attached to the outside wall of the weaver's home. Area sizes (normally 4ft 6in x 6ft 6in and sometimes as small as 2ft x 4ft) are only occasionally seen, the best of which  are highly prized by serious collectors. Rare examples of very large sizes of these magnificent rugs can occasionally be found in sizes ranging from 11x15 to 12x18. Extremely seldom seen are sizes larger than 12x18, runners and keleges (corridor rugs) found in this style.

The best Bakshaish carpets offer a unique combination of geometric allover design or graphic medallion format with unparalleled use of natural color and soft tones for large format carpets. They fit perfectly into contemporary or casual decors, and brilliantly enhance the casual, organic ambiance of mountainside homes.

Among connoisseurs, early Bakshaish carpets, (especially circa 1875 or earlier, as well as the best late 19th century examples) are the most highly prized of the extremely desirable Northwest Persian village carpets. For lovers of tribal rugs that are only found in smaller sizes, the Bakshaish style offers a similar geometric, folkloric character in carpets of larger sizes.

The 19th-century examples of Bakshaish weaving, if artistically distinguished, memorable in their beauty and in good condition, have performed very solidly as art investments, especially since the mid-1990's. Because of their great rarity, greatly inspired artistry and overwhelming appeal, the best 19th century representatives are widely sought after. Collectible-level pieces seldom come available on the public market, and when they do, often receive overwhelming demand.

Bakshaish Rugs, Part 1

Antique Oriental Bakshaish Rug, Courtesy of Claremont Rug Company

Bakshaish is a town on the banks of the Talke Rud River in the Heriz region of Northwest Persia. Situated in the mountainous region 60 miles east of the large city of Tabriz, Bakshaish is the oldest rug weaving village in the district of Heriz, noted for carpets with highly artistic, tremendously diverse abstracted adaptations of age-old tribal and classical Persian motifs.

In their softness of color and line, the appearance of antique Bakshaishes somewhat resembles the Sultanabad carpets of Central Persia, yet with designs drawn to substantially more free form, improvisational and geometric proportions. These are folk art masterworks in which the individual artistic creative decision of the weavers can usually be abundantly seen. The viewer will take delight in discovering the idiosyncratic temperament of the Bakshaish weaver, as seldom is one motif drawn in exactly the same fashion twice, and borders and even center medallions are usually playfully misshapen.

The best antique Bakshaishes are connoisseur's delights, exhibiting truly original patterns, unusual movement and asymmetry of design, and a richness and maturity of color obtained by the masterful use of natural dyes. They transcend the decorative to become truly one-in-the-world art objects.
Bakshaish weavers employed both soft reds and navy tones for the base color of the field, with the use of ivory or sometimes, golden Camelhair grounds being particularly rare and beloved. Exceptional blues are a hallmark of these carpets with hues of azure, turquoise, peacock and teal. Muted salmons, corals, buffs and yellows as well as rich spring to jade greens can also be found in abundance. Bakshaish carpets have a structure similar to others of the Heriz group, although their weave is usually somewhat finer.