Sultanabad

This intriguing over sized Sultanabad carpet displays an unusually large-scale rendition of the classic Persian ‘Herati’ repeat pattern of rosettes and palm fronds against an ivory ground. The internal contours of this design forms alternating rows of starbursts and cartouches within the field. The geometry and scale of this piece resembles that of 16th and 17th century classical carpets of the Safavid era, and may ultimately reveal the source of this popular Persian field design. The field is creatively framed with a border also derived from the ‘Herati’ pattern, but which is smaller in scale. This smaller scaled border, if repeated as multiple rows, is more in keeping with 19th century renderings.