Wednesday, March 4, 2020 2107 Addax Tower at the City of Lights, Al Reem Island, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. Woven Wonders “An Important Antique Collection of Tribal Rugs and Urban Carpets” Viewing: Sunday March 1, 2020 10:00am - 8:00pm Monday March 2, 2020 10:00am - 8:00pm Tuesday March 3, 2020 10:00am - 8:00pm Wednesday March 4, 2020 10:00am - 6:00pm Presentation: Wednesday March 4, 2020 at 6:30pm Auction: Wednesday March 4, 2020 at 7:00pm 2107 Addax Tower at the City of Lights, Al Reem Island, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. P.O. Box 33323 Tel. +971 2 6264 666 Fax. +971 2 6272 888 Email: [email protected] www.estuary.ae BUYERS PREMIUM SCHEDULE As of September 2019 Buyers Premium 25% + 5% VAT of the Buyers Premium HOW TO BUY AT AUCTION INTRODUCTION: Of the four main categories of antique Persian rugs, city rugs are the most rened. ese graceful antique rugs were woven in the workshops of master rug designers. e exquisite oral and botanical designs of these antique carpets were rendered with impeccable clarity, due to their ne weave, closely cut pile and the exceptional attention to detail in the elite workshops in which they were produced. Each of the major city styles has unique design elements and its own individual “weave” (inner structure of the rug.) While each city in which these treasured carpets were produced possesses its own distinct pattern, language and colors, one aspect of design is common to all city antique rugs: symmetry. Unlike rugs produced in town, village and tribal settings, a master rug weaver who designed every knot of a rug oversaw the famous workshops of 19th-century Persian rug weaving cities. Known as “cartoons,” these knot-by-knot designs were then followed exactly by the weavers. is method of carpet production enabled the creation of masterworks of elegance and symmetry, also known as “e Art of Absolute Symmetry.” is design feature, common to all city rug types, is meant to represent the perfect order of the universe. Produced in the rugged, mountainous areas of the Caucasus, Persia and Central Asia, tribal carpets have been woven for millennia, and form one of the earliest and most enduring modes of human expression. Antique tribal rugs are greatly prized by modern audiences for their elemental simplicity, exceptional inventiveness, and a timeless mastery of balance and harmony that appears equally fresh and immediate in contemporary settings. Tribal rugs vary enormously. e majority of styles feature bold, geometric patterning as a major component, often drawn with great spontaneity that reveals the hand of the individual weaver, as well as a tendency toward joyful creativity that is a central part of the worldview of many tribal groups. Inspired by their immersion in nature and a continual exposure to dramatic mountainous environments, weavers in the tribal tradition had a familiarity with striking graphic or abstracted pastoral forms and intense, varied color that is carried into and informs their work. e community aspect of tribal life is well-represented in their carpets. Living in small bands with strong kinship and family connections, sharing a common dialect and spiritual values, tribal groups developed an intense cohesion and pride, a natural and comfortable alignment of worldview and values cheerfully reinforced by their communal way of life. Due to the rugged simplicity and austerity of the tribal environment, rugs were a primary–and often only–mode of expression. e unity of the tribal bond is expressed in shared compositional formats, color palettes, and distinctive pattern language used by all tribal weavers of a certain region. is common vocabulary sometimes carried profound symbolic meaning, graphically representing cultural connotations that all members would understand. However, talented tribal weavers used these motifs and colors freely, a starting point from which creative individual interpretations were developed. With the advent of the commercial period in the early part of the 20th century, the pressures of market demand and political upheaval led to a dramatic decline in quality. Traditional forms and weaving practices were gradually abandoned in favor of methods more suited to mass production. Age-old motifs were reduced to regular, easily reproduced forms devoid of the spontaneity and individuality that gave tribal designs much of their artistic appeal. Harsh synthetic dyes often replaced more time-consuming natural dyes, removing the most nuanced and harmonious colors from the palette entirely. Wool quality suered due to overproduction, while standards of craftsmanship declined, the ancient techniques lost forever. 1 Lot 1 A Kerman carpet of multi boteh designs. Approx. Dim. 129 x 175cm Est. 18,000 - 36,000 AED 4,905 - 9,809 USD 2 Lot 2 A geometrical design Kashan Joshagan. Est. 18,000 - 26,000 AED Approx. Dim. 213 x 140cm 4,905 - 7,084 USD 3 Lot 3 A wool on silk arch and pillar design Tehran carpet. Approx. Dim. 214 x 140cm Est. 30,000 - 40,000 AED 8,174 - 10,899 USD 4 Lot 4 A wool on wool Isfahan Saraan carpet. Signed. Est. 40,000 - 60,000 AED Approx. Dim. 232 x 145cm 10,899 - 16,349 USD 5 Lot 5 An antique three medallion design Shiraz Khamseh rug (Persia) restored with new fringes. Circa 1900. Approx. Dim. 120 x 84cm Est. 12,000 - 24,000 AED 6 3,270 - 6,540 USD Lot 6 An antique Talish rug (Azerbaijan) red, blue, and beige colors, wool on wool. Circa 1890. Approx. Dim. 173 x 115cm Est. 14,000 - 28,000 AED 3,815 - 7,629 USD 7 Lot 7 A very ne late 19th century Bukhara Turkman carpet, red color, in good condition, wool on wool. Approx. Dim. 280 x 188cm Est. 26,000 - 46,000 AED 8 7,084 - 12,534 USD Lot 8 A signed silk Qum carpet of saron colors. Est. 10,000 - 20,000 AED Approx. Dim. 154 x 99cm 2,725 - 5,450 USD 9 Lot 9 A Nain Habibian carpet. Approx. Dim. 223 x 150cm Est. 24,000 - 58,000 AED 6,540 - 15,804 USD 10 Lot 10 A Chinese silk and silver thread dragons design carpet. Approx. Dim. 179 x 95cm Est. 35,000 - 55,000 AED 9,537 - 14,986 USD 11 Lot 11 A pair of early 20th century Kashan medallion design carpets. Approx. Dim. 206 x 132cm each Est. 25,000 - 50,000 AED 6,812 - 13,624 USD 12 Lot 12 An antique Zakho Kilim (Kurdistan - Iraq), red color, wool on wool. Circa 1900. Est. 10,000 - 20,000 AED Approx. Dim. 223 x 137cm 2,725 - 5,450 USD 13 Lot 13 A late 19th century Ghiordes rug (Turkey) with a very special prayer design restored with new fringes. Of red, blue, and mustard colors. Silk on silk. Note: with damages on the sides. Approx. Dim. 189 x 129cm Est. 22,000 - 44,000 AED 14 5,995 - 11,989 USD Lot 14 A Kurdish Caucasian boteh motif design rug. Wool on wool with natural dyes and colors. Circa 1920. Approx. Dim. 230 x 110cm Est. 12,000 - 24,000 AED 3,270 - 6,540 USD 15 Lot 15 An early 20th century antique Kerman Lavar carpet. Approx. Dim. 240 x 144cm Est. 40,000 - 60,000 AED 16 10,899 - 16,349 USD Lot 16 A very ne high quality Qashqai rug (Persia) multi medallion design with unusual borders in very good condition, wool on wool. Circa 1890. Approx. Dim. 232 x 145cm Est. 28,000 - 56,000 AED 7,629 - 15,259 USD 17 Lot 17 An antique late 19th / early 20th century Isfahan Ahmadi. Circa 1900. Approx. Dim. 227 x 146cm Est. 30,000 - 40,000 AED 18 8,174 - 10,899 USD Lot 18 An early 20th century Kerman carpet. Circa 1920. Approx. Dim. 379 x 280cm Est. 30,000 - 50,000 AED 8,174 - 13,624 USD 19 Lot 19 A mid 20th century Kashan carpet. Approx. Dim. 220 x 135cm Est. 12,000 - 24,000 AED 20 3,270 - 6,540 USD Lot 20 An early 20th century Samnan carpet of paradise gate design. Est. 20,000 - 30,000 AED Approx. Dim. 202 x 133cm 5,450 - 8,174 USD 21 Lot 21 An early 20th century pair of Kashan carpets. Approx. Dim. 200 x 131cm Est. 30,000 - 50,000 AED 22 8,174 - 13,624 USD Lot 22 A signed silk on silk Kashan carpet of light green colors. Est. 70,000 - 90,000 AED Approx. Dim. 345 x 245cm 19,074 - 24,523 USD 23 Lot 23 A wool on silk Isfahan carpet. Approx. Dim. 165 x 113cm Est. 10,000 - 20,000 AED 24 2,725 - 5,450 USD Lot 24 A very ne Lezgi rug (Azerbaijan) multi medallion design, red, blue, and beige colors. Circa 1900. Est. 16,000 - 32,000 AED Approx. Dim. 152 x 110cm 4,360 - 8,719 USD 25 Lot 25 A late 19th century wool on wool Kashan Mohtashem carpet. Circa 1890. Approx. Dim. 348 x 270cm Est. 130,000 - 160,000 AED 26 35,422 - 43,597 USD Lot 26 An antique Malayer (Persia) runner boteh design, red color, wool on cotton. Circa 1900. Approx. Dim. 355 x 104cm Est. 12,000 - 24,000 AED 3,270 - 6,540 USD 27 Lot 27 A boteh design Caucasian (Azerbaijan) rug with blue, red, and beige colors. Wool on wool. Circa 1890. Approx. Dim. 174 x 110cm Est. 14,000 - 28,000 AED 28 3,815 - 7,629 USD Lot 28 A very ne pair of multicolored Shirvan rugs (Azerbaijan). Wool on wool. Circa 1890. Est. 35,000 - 45,000 AED Approx.