A Good 19thC Country House Isfahan Tree Of Life Rug c.1880

SOLD
Origin: Persian
Period: Late 19thC
Provenance: Unknown
Date: c.1880
Length: 85.5”
Width: 51.5”

The beautifully worn Isfahan rug or carpet being of seneh-knot weave, the pictorial indigo field with two unusual opposing hounds to two trees, the central flowering tree with six opposing birds, enclosed by a main madder rose border with two indigo borders with birds and flowering foliage, the whole nineteenth century woven and surviving in faded country house condition.

The rug is fairly heavily worn, with two small threadbare parts to the birds, there are no repairs, holes or moth damages. In beautifully faded and worn condition.

Shah Abbas founded the famous workshops of Isfahan and for centuries Isfahan rugs have been treasured both in the East and in Europe.

The tree of life represents the immaculate state of humanity free from corruption and original sin before the fall. The Lamb of God is the reality of the figure of the tree of life planted at the center of the garden, with the signs of whose eternal grace “the world is charged”. World trees are frequently depicted with birds in their branches, and their roots extending into earth or water. The dogs in this pictorial rug are meant to drive away all undesirables including witches, robbers and diseases.

A work of art and a beautiful reminder of both the high art of carpet mastery and the seduction of the English country house.
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