Arabesque Band Carpet, c. 1650

Not on View

Medium

wool pile on cotton warp and cotton weft

Dimensions

overall size: 1077 x 409 cm (424 x 161 in.)
overall (width at top): 398.8 cm (157 in.)
overall (width at center): 402.6 cm (158 1/2 in.)
overall (width at bottom): 409 cm (161 in.)

Credit Line

Widener Collection

Accession Number

1942.9.476

Artists / Makers

Indian 17th Century (artist)

Persian 17th Century (artist)

Image Use

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Provenance

Duke of Braganza, Lisbon, Portugal.[1] (Vitall and Leopold Benguiat, New York); sold 18 February 1900 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.

[1] According to information supplied by the dealer Vitall Benguiat (letter of 29 March 1900 to Peter A. B. Widener in NGA curatorial files), this carpet "was originally in the reception room of the palace of the Duke of Braganza in Lisbon"; he classified it as a "'Persian Ispahan' of the 16th century made by the Royal Art Manufacturer. The designs and colors were drawn by special artists, for a European gift."

Associated Names

Benguiat, Vitall and Leopold
Braganza, Dukes of
Widener, Joseph E.
Widener, Peter Arrell Brown

Technical Summary

Warp: cotton, Z4S, ivory. Alternate warps depressed. Weft: cotton, 2Z, ecru (semi-bleached) x 3. Pile: wool, 2Z. Asymmetrical knotting open at the left. Hor. 11 Vert. 11Â½. 125 knots to the square inch. The ends are cut. Sides: two cables of (Z4S)4Z, both weft attached; the wool overcasting is a replacement. Colors: ivory, several shades of brown, tan, wine red, pink, yellow-orange, flesh, several shades of green, various shades of blue. The strong color variations in the lac ground arose from the successive use of wool from different dye lots, whose tendency to fade at a variable rate resulted in the appearance of narrow bands of a darker hue. This carpet was cleaned and repaired by Neshan G. Hintilian & Co., Washington, in 1955. Severely worn, it has extensive rewoven and patched areas, and hardly any of the original pile is left. There is a slit at the upper end. The back is weathered.

Bibliography

1935: Inventory of the Objects d'Art at Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, The Estate of the Late P.A.B. Widener. Philadelphia, 1935: 130-131.

1942: Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 19, as East Persian 16th Century, Large rug, similar to the so-called Ispahan.

1997: Torchia, Robert Wilson. "Widener's Gift." Hali 92 (May 1997): 88-97, 120, fig. 5.

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: 314-318, color repro.