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Northwest Indian 17th Century

Scenic Animal Carpet, c. 1625

Not on View

Medium

wool pile on cotton warp and cotton weft

Dimensions

overall: 416 x 191 cm (163 3/4 x 75 3/16 in.)

Credit Line

Widener Collection

Accession Number

1942.9.475

Artists / Makers

Northwest Indian 17th Century (artist)

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
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Provenance

Duke of Rutland, Belvoir Castle. (Duveen Brothers, New York and London); sold 18 November 1909 to Peter A. B. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; inheritance from Estate of Peter A. B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; gift 1942 to NGA.

Associated Names

Duveen Brothers, Inc.
Rutland, Duke of
Widener, Joseph E.
Widener, Peter Arrell Brown

Exhibition History

1910: Loan Exhibition of Early Oriental Rugs, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1910-1911, no. 50, repro. (cat. by Wilhelm Valentiner).

1947: An Exhibition of Antique Oriental Rugs, The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947, no. 14, repro.

1950: The Art of Greater India, 3000 B.C. - 1800 A.D., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1950, no. 172, repro., as Animal Rug, Mughal, Imperial manufactory.

1976: The Arts of Islam, Hayward Gallery, London, 1976, no. 99, repro.

1982: The Indian Heritage: Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1982, no. 196, repro.

1985: Akbar's India: Art from the Mughal City of Victory, The Asia Society, New York; The Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1985-1986, no. 73, repro. (shown only at first two venues, through March 1986).

1989: Romance of the Taj Mahal, Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond; The Asia Society, New York, 1989-1991, no. 196, repro. (shown only at first three venues, through November 1990).

1997: Flowers Underfoot: Indian Carpets of the Mughal Era, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1997-1998, no. 10, fig. 48, as Lahore 17th Century.

2015: Pearls on a String: Artists, Patrons, and Poets at the Great Islamic Courts, Toledo Museum of Art; Museum of Islamic Art, Doha; Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2015-2016, unnumbered catalogue, repro. (shown only in Baltimore and San Francisco).

Technical Summary

Warp: cotton, Z6S with some Z8S, ivory. Alternate warps moderately depressed. Weft: cotton, 2Z and 3Z, dyed light rusty red, x 3. Several short diagonal lines of weft return. Pile: wool, variably 2Z, 3Z and some 4Z. Asymmetrical knotting open at the left. Hor. 14,15. Vert. 19,17. Approximately 260 knots to the square inch. The ends and sides are cut and replaced with new finishes. Colors: ivory, various shades of brown, ecru, wine red, dark pink, abrashed orange, pale yellow, pale green, various shades of abrashed blue, and dark violet. Red and ivory are blended within the knot in limited areas. The pale green and other shades have faded variably. The outer guard band is missing on all four sides. Most of the reds, pinks, and browns in the field have eroded to a lower level, with a good bit of wear showing in the field. Other than repaired slits, especially at the lower end, and insect damage in the border, the rug is in extremely good condition.

Bibliography

1910: Loan Exhibition of Early Oriental Rugs. Exh. cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1910-1911: 62, pl. 50, repro. (cat. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner).

1911: Clifford, C. R. Rugs of the Orient. New York, 1911: 102, repro.

1911: Ruge, Klara. "Die Ausstellung alter Orientalischer Teppiche im Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York." Kunst und Kunsthandwerk 14 (1911): 217-218.

1935: Inventory of the Objects d'Art at Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, The Estate of the Late P.A.B. Widener. Philadelphia, 1935: 129-130.

1947: An Exhibition of Antique Oriental Rugs. Exh. cat. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947: no. 14, repro. (cat. by C.F. Kelly and M.O. Gentles).

1950: The Art of Greater India, 3000 B.C.-1800 A.D. Exh. cat. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1950: 112, repro.

1955: Bode, Willhelm von and Ernst Kühnel. Vorderasiatische Knüpfteppiche. 5th ed. Braunschweig, 1955: 154, 155.

1959: Dilley, Arthur U. Oriental Rugs and Carpets. New York, 1931: 140, pl. 35. Rev. ed., Philadelphia, 1959: 140, pl. 36.

1965: Chattopadhyaya, Kamaladevi, et al. Indian Carpets. Bombay, 1965: 13, fig. 2.

1965: Ellis, Charles G. "Indian Carpets in U.S.A. Museums." Marg 18, no. 4 (September 1965): 13, fig. 2.

1967: Schürmann, Ulrich. "Altindische Teppiche," Heimtex 4/67 (April 1967): 134, fig. 7.

1970: Erdmann, Kurt. Seven Hundred Years of Oriental Carpets. Edited by Hanna Erdmann. Translated by May H. Beattie and Hildegard Herzog. Berkeley, 1970: 75. (Orig. Siebenhundert Jahre Orientteppich. Zu seiner Geschichte und Erforschung. Hanna Erdmann, ed. Herford,1966.)

1973: Dimand/Mailey 1973, 119-120.

1976: The Arts of Islam. Exh. cat. Hayward Gallery, London, 1976: 117, pl. 99, repro. (cat. by Rosemary Crill).

1977: Bennett, Ian, ed. Rugs and Carpets of the World. New York, 1977: 128.

1978: Gans-Ruedin, Erwin. The Splendor of Persian Carpets. New York, 1978: 62-65, repro., color details.

1979: Eiland, Murray. Chinese and Exotic Rugs. Boston, 1979: 143.

1982: Beattie, May H., Charles Grant Ellis, and Hanna Erdmann. "The Art of the Mughal Carpet." Hali 4, no. 3 (1982): 220-238, esp. no. 5, repro.

1982: Beattie, May H. "The Widener Animal Carpet." Hali, 4, no. 3 (1982): 228, repro. 229 (color details), 237-238, fig. 5.

1982: The Indian Heritage: Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule. Exh. cat. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1982: 75, no. 196, repro. (cat. by Robert Skelton et al.).

1984: Bode, Wilhelm von, and Ernst Kühnel. Antique Rugs from the Near East. 4th rev. ed. Transl. Charles Grant Ellis. Ithaca, New York, 1984: 163, fig. 120. (Originally Vorderasiatische Knüpfteppiche aus älterer Zeit. Leipzig, 1914.)

1985: Akbar's India: Art from the Mughal City of Victory. Exh. cat. The Asia Society, New York; The Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1985-1986: 113, 154-155, no. 73, repro.(cat. by Michael Brand & Glenn D. Lowry).

1989: Dye, Joseph M., III. "Fabrics, Carpets, and Costumes." In Romance of the Taj Mahal. Ed. Pratapaditya Pal et al. Exh. cat. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1989: 179, pl. 196.

1997: Torchia, Robert Wilson. "Widener's Gift." Hali 92 (May 1997): 88-97, 120, fig. 6.

1998: Bower, Virginia, Josephine Hadley Knapp, Stephen Little, and Robert Wilson Torchia. Decorative Arts, Part II: Far Eastern Ceramics and Paintings; Persian and Indian Rugs and Carpets. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1998: 308-313, color repro.