Amsterdam 1946-Delft 1948

 

The first carpet exhibition after WWII was held in Amsterdam at the Rijksmuseum from 13 July to 3 September 1946,and featured a broad selection of the museum`s collection supplemented with loans from local collectors.The newly formed “Vereenigung voor Oostersche Tapijtkunde” was spearheaded by the prominent Amsterdam dealer Jaques Aalderink with second-in-command P.Otten.They were assisted by the prominent Dutch Collector G.W van Aardenne,who later donated a large part of his collection to the Rijksmuseum in 1975.Where possible,only pre-1800 examples were selected,although today`s idea of “pre-1800” has changed somewhat.Nevertheless the standard was high and the taste sophisticated.Two years later the exhibition was reprised in Delft at the Prinsenhof Museum(a former monastery) with some new additions.The Amsterdam show exhibited 97 pieces;the Delft show 135.

The two catalogues displayed a limited amount of reproductions,but with the aid of the Van Aardenne-Rijksmuseum publication from 1977 a fairly comprehensive re-enactment has been possible.The Rijksmuseum`s website is a valuable source of photo material and is recommended to all those interested in the subject.

The exhibits are listed as in the catalogues.Pieces which were displayed again in Delft are recorded at the end of each entry.

2) A Beshir main carpet with unusual design,which occurs on Ersari jollars.298 x 122 cms.(Delft 67)

2

3 &4) Chodor jollars with the high Göl form are quite rare,and amongst the most opulent in their group.Outstanding examples are in the Thompson,Hecksher and Rothberg collections.None of those items display an elem as seen here in plate 4.The Ryksmuseum also  possesses a second Chodor jollar from the Van Aardenne Collection(exhibit 3-Rijksmuseum BK-1975-319)with the typical weedy colours of a distinct minor group:olive and faint purple.Van Aardenne/Rijksmuseum BK-1975-318.152 x 50 cms.

3

4

Loges Collection

Ex-Thompson Collection

7) A Chinese carpet with Fo-dog medallion and 100 antiques border,quite similar to an example published by Moore/Mumford in 1916.Fo-dog rugs seem to be eternally popular with the public,and belong to the standard repertoire of many dealers.Yellow-brown field.Thurkow Collection,the Hague.260 x 175 cms.(Delft 54)

7

8) Such heavily Chinese-influenced mats were never made in China proper,but in East Turkestan,in one of the towns strung like a necklace around the Taklamakan desert.The foliate-dragon medallion is curiously asymmetric.One of the gems from the Van Aardenne Collection.Now in the Rijksmuseum.98 x 85 cms.(Delft 55)

8

12) The von Pannwitz medallion carpet,now Thyssen Collection.An Animal-Medallion rug which may or may not be Safavid.May Beattie demoted it to the 19th century and aligned it with the Salting carpets;Friedrich Spuhler elevated it to the noblest of Safavid productions.It is a fine and fancy carpet with accurately repeating quarter design,impeccable drawn,but with little variation except in the upper half.With excellent colouring,but quite stiff when compared to the Salting carpets,whose avant-garde quality it lacks.However,it may well have served with the V&A`s Garland fragment,as a model for the "tiresome" Saltings.The poem in high-quality calligraphy is a panegyric to wine,women and song. All-silk foundation.225 x 158 cms.(Delft 2)

12

13) Published by Sarre/LaScala in 1908 and exhibited at the 1931 Persian Art Exhibition in 1931,the Ryksmuseum`s Animal-Medallion carpet appears to be a simplified copy of the carpet in Lyons,which has a counterpart,albeit somewhat removed,in the McMullan Collection now in Boston(13A).228,5 x 163 cms.(Delft 1)

13

13A-Lyons-Boston

14) The remains of a once superior Red Ground Floral carpet with clearly delineated spiral-vine tracery.However,this is a rare blue ground variant,of which a superior example exists with a coat of arms in Lisbon(14A).195 x 145 cms.

14

14A

15) The Ryksmuseum`s Vase Carpet fragment is of a group with three plane vines, but in this case one plane has been replaced by a lattice formed of large sickle-leaves,perhaps depicting the cannabis plant.This very well drawn piece could belong to a group of fragments identifiable by border,to whit:the TM`s large fragment,a small piece published in the ICOC catalogue "Sovrani",a fragment now in the V&A,and another which surfaced at Sothebys in 1990.Two of the fragments are known to contain a coloured backshag,and it is probable that the Ryksmuseum piece also shows this anomaly-actually the birth of the Gabbeh.Another part of the puzzle,also lacking any border remnants,is in the Hermitage Museum.235 x 170 cms(Delft 5)

15

15A

15B

15C

15D

18) Described as NW Persian Karadje in the 1977 Rijksmuseum-Van Aardenne catalogue,such carpets were more likely made in the Karabag region.Similar pieces are in the Parsons Tod Collection (dated 1842!) and a private New York collection.The absolute masters of the medallion-boteh continuous style-itself a book illustration scheme-can be found in South Persia,viz a carpet once with Bernheimer and sold at Rippon-Boswell in 1987 for $ 52,200.185 x 100 cms.(Delft 31)

18

18A

19) Described as "restituted" in the catalogue,which may mean it was looted during WWII,this carpet from the Mannheimer Collection(via Bernheimer)since 1952 in the Ryksmuseum,was previously exhibited at the 1931 London Persian Art Exhibition.It is presumably the only signed Polonaise carpet,with a signature which can either mean "Sahru",a Persian man`s name,or. read separately,"Young man,beautiful countenance"Its design does not fit into Friedrich Spuhler`s classification;in fact it has a Red-Ground Floral,Herat style carpet design with in-and-out palmettes and a rough spiral-vine system.Less than 30 long rugs in the "Polo" style are known,and fewer still in the Herat style.Although piled in silk and embroidered with gold and silver thread,the Polonaise carpets are not really luxury items:the structure is a thick cotton warp and weft with one silk middle weft thread.The silk warps are actually sewn on "falsies" 335 x 156 cms.(Delft 23)

19

19A

22)Another Bernheimer/Mannheimer restitution,this wonderful fragment was once in the Figdor Collection and was published as early as 1895.With a Herat design,it was also shown in London in 1931.No metal brocading.92 x 146 cms.(Delft 26)

22

24) Little attention has been given to this all-silk carpet in the possession of the Portugese-Jewish community of Amsterdam;perhaps because it is the weakest of all pieces in this illustrious group.The border is especially poor.Yet it is the only silk Kashan in Holland,and thus worthy of exhibition.176 x 287 cms.(Delft 28)

24

30) Although heavily restored and cut through the middle,this Vase Carpet with its old arabesque border is a salient example which has appeared a number of times at auction:in 1978 at Mak van Way,then in 1993 at Christies.It was sold at Rippon-Boswell in 2009 for $27,400 to the Italian trade.It was on loan to the Ryksmuseum between 1954 and 1978.Perhaps a runner-up to the V&A `s carpet,which has four rows in the width,making one think that this carpet has in fact lost a complete vertical row.Its appearance at Rippon Boswell in 2009(179)together with the Prohl RGF carpet shown at Delft in 1948(3) was perhaps no coincidence.147 x 350 cms.(Delft 4)

30

31) A fragment from a  Herat carpet,in the Ryksmuseum since 1901.More geometric in execution,it can be compared to the much superior item at the Corcoran Sale in 2013,in an elegant floral style.Almost certainly with a ragged palmette border.117 x 167 cms.(Delft 6)

31 

31A-Corcoran Sale Sothebys 2013

32) A Herat carpet from the Pannwitz Collection.Such wrecks still ghost through the auction rooms,achieving sizable prices.One such was at a Sothebys sale in 1994.Careful lighting  brought out its exquisite quality,and it sold for a well- deserved $55,890.

Von Pannwitz was a wealthy German lawyer who settled into Hartekamp Castle in Holland in the 1920s.He assembled a major art collection:a number of his carpets were exhibited at the Ryksmuseum in 1946.

The author prefers the term "Herat" to describe the large and diffuse Red-Ground floral group issuing from the matrix of the Emperor`s carpets,now divided between Vienna and New York.Herat lies conveniently between Isfahan and Lahore,and was the capital and artistic epicenter of the Timurid Empire.Its carpets,of which a lone fragment in the Benaki Museum appears to have survived,are known only from miniature paintings.And yet a large and important manufactory must have existed there.Of the five major groups of Persian classical carpets(Medallion,Animal,RGF,Polonaise and Vase styles)the RGF Herat carpets are the most numerous,and although employing the standard 3-weft all cotton structure are a highly distinct group.Whilst the author lays no claims to a special knowledge of rug geography in this matter,he believes no one else can either.420 x 186 cms.(Delft 12)

32

32A

35) With its asymmetrically-cast blue vases containing a sprig of white petals,this fragment resembles a carpet in the Gulbenkian Collection,which may well be its pair.The Ryksmuseum also owns another,more febrile Vase Carpet fragment,its BK-1971-113. 122 x 185 cms.(Delft 7)

35

35A-Gulbenkian

42) A model of Mamluke austerity,this magnificent wreck has rarely been exhibited due to its fragile condition.The medallions seem chiselled into red stone,and despite a plethora of amulettes,retain their dominance.In other 3-medallion versions(of which some twenty are known) they tend to vanish,submerged under the weight of accumulated small devices,or blend too smoothly into the background.The extraordinary silk carpet in the MAK with a similar medallion typus need not concern us here  due to its utter uniqueness,but a carpet fragment in the Keir Collection(42A) is worthy of mention in this context.Friedrich Spuhler called the Ryksmuseum piece one of the three most outstanding examples of its kind(presumably meaning of the 3 medallion type) and the author would concur,elevating it to the prime example,a total carpet.475 x 236 cms.(Delft 71)

42

42A

43) Unlike the previous exhibit,this conventional-sized Mamluke has a peaceful,almost sweet aura.The eight-pointed star medallion has an unusual elem of stars and thick cypress trees unlike the customary sparse depiction,interspersed with what are presumably Date palms.In classic three-colour style,this rug was in the Wulf Collection,Copenhagen,in 1934.How it got to the Arts Museum in the Hague is unclear.In his catalogue Wulf`s declaration that  the condition was excellent,with one small repair, may have been a calculated sales-pitch.136 x 195cms(note:the numbers 42 and 43 in the Amsterdam exhibiton catalogue have been switched)

43

44) The author has fond memories of seeing this rug hung in the Ryksmuseum in the 1970`s.Although sewn onto a backing,it looked ragged and grubby,yet its intrinsic nobility shone through.The most painterly of all Turkish carpets until the appearance of the Foy Caspar carpet at Brunks in 2003,a third related carpet,the Bernheimer Medallion rug,also hung for a while in the Ryksmuseum(shown here in de-restored state)A prescient purchase by the Ryksmuseum in 1905 from the dealer Cantoni of Milan.100 x 170 cms.The group as a whole and its relation to Egyptian tentmaking was explored here(plate 137)  

(Delft 80)

44

44A

44B

44C

45) One of three Lottos in the show,late of the de Stuers Collection and in the Anatolian style.The light green ground border is unusual.The meander is known  from two other rugs,a fragment in Sibiu and an item with the dealer Ali Aydin.198 x 112 cms.(Delft 72)

45

45A

46) Poet and lawyer P.Otten (as he was known) was a driving force with Jacques Aalderink behind both the 1946 and 1948 carpet exhibitions in Holland.His Kilim style Lotto carpet is notable for a ragged-leaf border with a connected curled leaf meander,missing in more prosaic examples.It can be compared to a carpet in Mediasch.A photo of the collector was published in Sothebys sale of his collection in 1987.With his cigarette,Genever and rugs-the classic Dutch gentleman.182 x 118.(Delft 79)

46

46A-Mediash

46 B-P.Otten

47) Another de Stuers/Van Aardenne rug,again in the kilim style.Intricate field design and adroitly turned corners.Three Lotto carpets in one show are a measure of its importance.159 x 115 cms.(Delft 74)

47

47A

49) One of the most beautiful Siebenbürger carpets is in the Central Museum in Utrecht.It has a unique configuration of white ground,yellow ground border,one lamp/vase and one palmette.The four central palmettes are perfectly aligned-two have been tilted sideways.Flowers on long stems crowned with a boteh-like head and arabesque spandrels complete the lineup.The basic design is closer to a prayer rug than to a conventional medallion design.This absolute beauty entered the museum in 1942,quite an unusual year for such an acquisition.It was published by Onno Ydema in his seminal publication.However that author seems to have misplaced the location as the photo lacks a description.He comments strangely that "not one single example is known to have survived after the 18th and 19th century in a Dutch collection"Ydema seems also to have been unaware of the 1946 and 1948-49 exhibitions.165 x 119 cms(Delft 82)

49

50) The rare border on this Transylvanian rug creates a quatrefoil by skillful use of a figure-ground device.The field shows signs of degeneration:the inverted lamp/vases are almost unrecognisable as such,and their meaning was clearly unknown to the weaver.De Stuers-Van Aardenne-Rijksmuseum.186 x 110 cms.(Delft 1986)

50

51)From a large group with medallion encircled by rosettes and sea-horses(?)or carnations,this design survived  in a type of carpet attributed to Dazgiri,three examples of which are dated irresponsibly.Van Aardenne-Ryksmuseum.160 x 125 cms.

51

51A

52) This large medallion Ushak is still in the Art Museum,the Hague.It is of the type with one and two half medallions,on a blue ground with solid colour medallions.The meander border surrounding a single lotus bud seems mechanical.385 x 195 cms.

52

53) A rare Small medallion Ushak variant on blue ground.The central medallion with arabesque is rare,but a carpet at Sothebys in 1997 and 2018 utilised a similar concept.Von Pannwitz Collection.154 x 111 cms.(Delft 81)

53

53A

59) A small group of Kula rugs,identifiable by their 3-petal meander borders,feature large palmettes in a single vertical row.It seems the more palmettes,the later and more degenerate the rugs become.The Van Aardenne has a simplified design with a rare tulip border.James Ballard owned two such pieces,both of the more conventional variety.252 x 100 cms.(Delft 92)

59

59A-Ballard Collection

65) From the Hondius Crone Collection,this Selendi Ghiordes turned up again with Eberhart Herrmann in SOT 5,plate 6(sale price 32,000DM)Such pieces, of which 15 examples have been recorded,are quite distinct from the later Kis Ghiordes rugs,of which an example is shown here.The connection to the Small Medallion Ushak carpets has been severed.133 x 116 cms.(Delft 109)

65

65A-Ballard

67) A Davanzati prayer rug on a red ground is closest to a piece once with Schmutzler and later in the Wher Collection:the same arabesque spandrels and zigzag tree forms within the mihrabs,and square bases supporting the columns.The carpet,once in the Van Hengel Collection,has since disappeared.164 x 127 cms.More info:Here

67

69) There are two main types of Ladik prayer rug:one in which the floral panels are placed above the mihrab,and one below.This triple-arch model is of a group with the standard rosette and tulip border,invariably on a red ground,although a whiteground rug was once at Lefevre/Nagel.There is plenty of room for variation,of which the slightest can produce a radical effect.The border ground colours are always different.Now Rijksmuseum.175 x 110 cms.(Delft 113)

69

69A

70) A red-ground Ladik prayer rug with plain field and triple arches.Private Collection.161 x 109 cms.

70

70A

74)A quirky Davanzati franchise with a rare border,which surfaced recently with the dealer Sadegh Memarian in Holland.Exhibited 1979 at the Greven exhibition.A similar rug was with Aaron Nejad and later Mirco Cattai.Aalderink,Amsterdam.149x105 cms.(Delft 101)

74

74A

75) A rare type of "Konya Ladik",ie a Konya area rug with a transfer of design from the Ladik carpets.A similar carpet was illustrated by Tabahi.Van Aardenne Collection,now Ryksmuseum.137 x 100 cms.(Delft 102)

75

75A

79) A high-quality Smyrna carpet with a rare type of floral border.Few carpets of this type have survived.Van Aardenne Collection,formerly with Alphonse de Stuers.176x138cms.

79A

84) With its grotesque central medallion this misshapen monument is the most eccentric of all such Bergama carpets in the "4-and-1 style,derived presumably from a Large Pattern Holbein rug in the TIEM,Istanbul(84A).The "Antenna-Mast" devices in the center and corners are surely derived from the "Domes and Squinches" rug in the same museum(84B)There are four basic types of such carpets,of which the group with cut-off corners appears to be early and authentic.Instantly recognisable,such carpets experienced a long period of popularity in the last century.The center panel could have served as the matrix for a whole host of Baluch bagfaces,and the Khaf göl within the four secondaries-itself a borrowing from the three-medallion Mamluke carpet,Plate 42-was also used in bags and rugs of the Baluch groups(84C).There is probably more international poaching of designs in the 19th century than any assumed hereditary transmission.Whether the Van Aardenne rug is an archaic early example or just a freak of nature,it is without doubt the most mesmerising of group.The author hopes to publish a classification of such rugs in the near future.193x165 cms.

84

84A

84B

84C

87) A so-called "Dragon Rug" from the Ushak area,which actually descends from a type of Blossom or Transitional style carpet such as that destroyed during a raid on the Berlin Mint in 1945.Two other examples with Star-Diagonal border are shown here(H.Haack and Rippon-Boswell 2020)Hoogendijk Collection.109 x 178 cms.

87

87A

87B

88) Presumably part of the same rug as a fragment from Bernheimer,Caucasian carpet features a leopard-skin dragon on a brown ground.Other fragments with spotted snakes appear on two fragments in the Purrmann Collection and a piece at Erzerum.Formerly Rueter Collection,now Rijksmuseum.53 x 147 Cms.(Delft 35)

88

88A

88B

88C

89) Whilst not at the top of the tree,Lenkorans of this type have achieved a higher profile since the appearance of such a piece in the Kirchheim Collection.A nervous rash of hooks on a corroded ground and a trefoil border are the chief characteristics.Otten Collection,now Rijksmuseum.250 x 117 cms(Delft 37)

89

89A

91) A Shirvan lattice rug with a rare white on black "Gothic" border.The original could not be located,but two similar rugs have been traced.Van Hengel Collection,Arnhem.154 x 100 cms.

91

91A

94) A rough-and-ready Karachov with an early feeling and colour:blue-green field and apricot  border seems to be the oldest configuration.The rams-horn stalks in the center seem to peer out at the viewer.After a long period of popularity(as with the Bergama-Ezine 4-and-1 rugs)the more improvised style of weaving has come to the fore amongst collectors.So fickle is taste.150 x 185 cms.(Delft 45)

94

Het Rijksmuseum 1951

1948 DELFT-PRINSENHOF 18 December 1948-30 January 1949.

3)Whether separated by time or royal access,these adroitly stitched together fragments are a far cry from the leading examples of the Herat group,such as the Wildenstein carpet now in Doha.Some 22 Red Ground Florals with cartouche border have been recorded,but the long panels are invariably filled with cloudbands and not,as here,with an arabesque.This concept derives from the elegant borders of the Clam Gallas carpet in Vienna,or at least from a common design source.The grandest of all such cartouche designs can be seen on the Ardabil,where it is actually rather perfunctory,with just four cloudbands.However,the scale of the Ardabil is dizzying,whereas on the Proehl fragments it is cramped and awkward.The earliest Safavid carpets were likely woven from designs drawn out by artists,which were then covered with a grid to aid the weavers in their work.Later copyists started with the grid and dotted in the design.Thus later weavers were copying the grid.

The Proehl fragments are said to be knotted on yellow silk warps,and the weft is-?They were sold in our time at Lefevre in 1979 for 15,500 GBP;and returned to Rippon-Boswell on 5 December 2009(lot 126)where they brought a hefty $95,160. 282 x 194 cms.

3

3a-the Clam Gallas

3B-Ojjeh-Wildenstein

9)The von Pannwitz medallion carpet would appear to be a miniaturised version of a large carpet once in Berlin and which now perhaps graces the head office of the KGB,having been “evacuated” by Russian troops in 1945 and never returned.Such items reach their shabby,yet jolly denouement in the likes of a carpet once with McMullan,described by Jacoby as a “Bastard” carpet,and by this author as “Golden Triangle”Info 213 x 127 cms (“sterk versleten,vele restauraties”-cut?)

9

9A-Berlin,missing in action

9B-The McMullan-where is it now?

11) In 1908 this carpet was in the collection of Baron von Tucher,and was published in Sarre/LaScala.It`s certainly one of the most splendid of Red-Ground Florals,and of the type with cartouche border which can only be compared to the carpet in Vienna.Both of them are overshadowed,however,by the Rothschild carpet with swooping birds,whose genealogy is closer to the Emperor`s carpets(the Rothschild sold at Sothebys New York in 2013 for $1,930,500) Another similar carpet from the Imre Schwaiger Collection survives as a patchwork of border strips.The Delft catalogue lists it as “N.N Collection”,as it does also a number of Polonaise carpets and the great Khorasan “Vase” carpet which were once in the Mannheimer Collection,and which were “purchased” for the Adolf Hitler Museum in Linz.In its present parlous state many old repairs are visible. The white appears to be natural cotton.Dr Mannheimer financed most of his collection on credit,and his banking business collapsed after his mysterious death in Paris,in 1939.He is shown here in the company of Josephine Baker.

In the Delft catalogue`s introduction,reference is made to a similar rug in Sarre-Trenkwald 1-16.Now only a half-fragment from a very large carpet(367 cms)it seems to have gone astray. 500 x 233 cms.

11

11A

11B

11C

11D

18)Included perhaps for educational purposes only, this piece from the Rijksmuseum is genuinely awful.Either half the field looks like a faded repair or a fugitive dye,yet no mention is made of this in the catalogue entry.It is quite remarably stiff and wooden,although the minor elements are interesting. Purchased 1903.443 x 200 cms.

Both this carpet and Plate 11 are dealt with in P.Ottens`s interesting article:”Twee Oosterse tapijten in het Rijksmuseum”Otten mentions a  rug with RGF design in Neugebauer & Orendi,1922,plate 1,described there as a copy of a Persian rug from Asia Minor.Interestingly,it has a part-yellow-orange ground as in Delft 18.,and this feature may be deliberate in both pieces.

18

18A

19)A number of explanations have been offered for the maritime scenes in the so-called “Portuguese” carpets,none of which are particularly convincing.The Ryksmuseum example has a very crudely-drawn scene lacking the man in the water and the Indio slaves.Due to their extensive use of jufti-knotting,the group as a whole have been attributed to India,but the technique was also wide-spread in Khorasan(“Herat”)and was doubtless employed to navigate the extensive zigzag outlines of the design.Another carpet from the unfortunate Dr.Mannheimer. 510 x 200 cms.

19

19A

19B

19C

20) Less finicky than its counterpart in the MAK,Vienna,the Rijksmuseum`”Khorasan” shrub carpet is one of three with a palmette-leaf meander border.The other examples in this group have prosaic cypress-tree and palmette surrounds.Attributed variously,their origin has not yet been determined.605 x 206 cms.

20

20A

20C

21)In which animals have been replaced by racemes and palmettes;the field appears to be a segment.Now with Zaleski,this spent time with Voytech Blau and was sold at Sothebys in 2006 for $385,000.It has a weaker counterpart with a similar border from the Church of St.John the Divine(Sothebys 2001,$12,000)Von Pannwitz Collection.360 x 160 Cms.

21

21A

21B

22)A rare type of Caucasian Avshan carpet,later in the possession of Jan Timmerman,the doyen of Dutch rug collectors.A complete example was with Eskenazi and sold at Sothebys in 1982.A fragment is published in the Keir Collection catalogue,and another fragment appeared at the AAA in 1932.Straat Collection,Leeuwarden.106 x 76 cms.

22A

22B

22C

38) Appearing first in a Vase Carpet,this design is a direct development from a Persian carpet once in the Goldschmidt Collection.Sold at the Halevim Sale in 2001 for 25,650 GBP,it re-appeared in 2020 at Sothebys Islamic.With Hoogendijk,Amsterdam. 225 x 160 cms.

38

38A

38B-Goldschmidt

43)With this kind of carpet,usually referred to as “Fachralo” less is better.This may or may not be a sign of age,but such carpets are usually better proportioned,somewhat square and never elongated.The better examples seem to be on a green or blue-green ground.There are few outstanding red-ground examples.The medallion was also used on certain prayer rugs from the same area,and the chafer border on the Rijksmuseum example is also found on a type of Karachov medallion carpet.200 x 170 cms.

43

43A

43B

60)An interesting choice for the time,such silk and metal thread Chinese carpets have recently become quite trendy,perhaps as investments-rather like Chinese Herekes.The five dragon models are often encountered,exceeded in popularity only by the medallion design.Earlier rugbooks sometimes attributed them to East Turkestan,which is perhaps where they were first woven.Some of these carpets have inscriptions indicating special rooms on the Imperial premises.212 x 125 cms.

60

60A

79) A rare type of Large-Medallion Ushak(“LMU”) was produced with a central medallion covered with leaves and palmettes.Some smaller sizes were also woven,and a total of nine examples have been recorded.Van Hengel Collection.288 x 208 cms.

79

79A

85)Re-surfacing at the AAC Auction on 16 September 2014(215) this colourful Transylvanian from the van Hengel Collection is an example of the “Dazgiri” style,which continued to be woven in the Menderes Valley into the 19th century.176 x 1125 cms.

85

85A

88) At least 12 examples of Cairene carpets with this design have been recorded.It is basically an allover pattern divided by borders.A signal event was the appearance of triplets at Christies in 2003,which,despite age and rarity,sold poorly.Van Aardenne Collection,now Rijksmuseum.191 x 133 cms.

88

 

88A

91) Such Kula carpets in a coarse palmette design are rare.This piece employs the standard Kula border design,making identification easy.More superior examples,such as the Bode and Atlantic Collections examples,have a border taken from Ushak prayer rugs.Proehl Collection.224 x 129 cms.

91

91A

91B

97)Another Kula carpet in the classic style adapted from the Transylvanian Vase Medallion group.One of two rugs in this design from the Van Aardenne Collection now in the Rijksmuseum. 182 x 137 cms.

97

107) A typical later Ghiordes prayer rug with petal-leaf border.Van Hengel Collection. 231 x 160 cms.

107

107A

117) Not published in the 1977 Van Aardenne catalogue,nor visible on the Rijksmuseum`s website,this Siebenbürger prayer rug is one of a small group with indented mihrab and palmette borders(see 91)They all have floral spandrels and a plain red field. 131 x 98 cms.

117

117A

123) A Bayburt kilim from the P.Otten Collection,dated,as many of these are. 186 x 136 cms.

123

123A

125) A grand little Sarkislar carpet,of which no other example is known.The borders give it an archaic look.Much offset knotting.183 x 89cms.

125

125A-Berlin

126) Van Aardenne`s powerful Turkish rug with Holbein derived medallions.The border later mutated into that used on the A Group Star Kazaks.17th-18th century. 186 x 132 cms.

126

134) One of a small group of East Anatolian rugs woven with real camel wool.The design alters depending on whether the rows start with one or two boxes.Now quite rare.Aalderink-Rijksmuseum. 115 x 92 cms.

134

134A

135-Van Aardenne exhibition,Utrecht 1952