Description

This decorative Tabriz carpet, sometimes also referred to as a “Benlian”, dates to the early 20th century.

The famous “Benlian star” in the top left hand corner , which in this case actually reads “Jabbar Zardeh”, is a reference to one of the most renowned makers of these very sought after decorative carpets. Such carpets were produced in workshops, which began to flourish towards the end of the 19th century, and targeted at the European market; they were valuable goods for export, usually via Turkey and then on to Europe, but also North America. The Benlian family were Armenian carpet merchants based in London and owned their own workshop in Tabriz, where this carpet was made.

The all over design of this carpet, including the vases, harks back to the classic period of Safavid carpets. Cecil Edwards refers to these as the “Shah Abbasi Designs” (see his seminal publication The Persian Carpet. A Survey of the Carpet-Weaving Industry of Persia. London, Duckworth 1953, reprinted 1975, pp. 43 – 47. He includes drawings of various Shah Abbasi motifs, made by Tahir Zadeh Bihzad from the Tehran School of Art, variations of which can also be found in the carpet in hand).

The carpet is very finely woven in a Turkish knot on a depressed cotton warp. It is in excellent condition – an elegant addition to a sophisticated interior.