Dorotheum, Vienna, 12 September 2017

August 25, 2017

Wolfgang Matschek’s specialist sale of Oriental Carpets, Textiles and Tapestries will be held at the historic Viennese auction house, Dorotheum at 4pm on 12 September 2017. The saleroom always has an interesting and eclectic mix of material passing through its doors and the lots included in this sale are no exception. Viewing opens on 6 September.

Lot 71, ‘Tree & Shrub’ Design Carpet, Sultanabad, West Persia (Iran), circa 1840, 520 x 420 cm, estimate EUR 38,000/USD 45,000

A considerable number of workshop weavings from Iran sit alongside Caucasian offerings, either side of a special section of nineteen Chinese pieces. Amongst these is lot 43, a late Qing weaving with an inscription indicating it was made ‘to be used by the Emperor in the Hall of Preserving Harmony’ – one of three halls at the heart of the Imperial palace in Beijing’s Forbidden City.

Lot 43, Imperial Palace Carpet, Northeast China, circa 1910, during the reign of Emperor Puyi, silk on cotton, 240 x 153 cm, estimate EUR 22,000/USD 26,000

A Sultanabad ‘tree and shrub’ design carpet from the Farahan region of west Persia, lot 71, circa 1840, is one of the oldest extant examples of type. It hails from a centre that was integral to exporting Persian carpets to Europe in the 19th century and the complete major border of large palmettes, arabesques and cloud bands is particularly noteworthy. Less complete, but still impressive, is lot 92, a 17th century Khorasan floral carpet fragment with the ‘Harshang’ pattern, from an Austrian private collection.

Lot 92, Floral Carpet Fragment, East Persia (Iran), second half 17th century, 410 x 277 cm, estimate EUR 28,000/USD 33,500

From the Caucasus, is lot 10, a Karabagh runner with a mustard yellow ground, formerly in the collection of Hamburg-based collector and dealer Siawosch Azadi. Lot 169, a Borjalu kilim has a design reminiscent of Kazak pile rugs, while lot 70, a finely knotted Shirvan, has a design of compartmentalised animal motifs usually seen in Azerbaijani sumakh covers.

Lot 10, Karabagh Runner, South Caucasus, circa 1880, 576 x 118 cm, formerly Siawosch Ulrich Azadi Collection, Hamburg, estimate EUR 12,000/USD 14,500

Lot 169, Borjalu Kilim, Southwest Caucasus, first half 20th century, 435 x 134 cm, opening price EUR 2,400/USD 2,850

Lot 70, Shirvan, East Caucasus, circa 1880, 270 x 172 cm, estimate EUR 7,000/USD 8,300

Lot 61 is another ‘palace’ carpet, approximately seven metres square but of an altogether different ilk to the Beijing palace rug, comes from Agra in north India.