Upcoming Austria Auction Company Auction

[View this email in your browser]( Udo Langauer’s Austria Auction Company will host 'Fine Antique Oriental Rugs XXXVIII'  on 21 September  2024 at 4pm CEST at its Palais Breuner salerooms in Vienna. There are numerous interesting lots for the well-informed bidder within the hand picked selection of 218 pieces, which can be previewed at the premises from 18–20 September from 11am–5pm and 21 September from 11am–4pm. One highlight in the sale is a unique early garden carpet in the Indo-Persian tradition ([Lot 181](. This carpet has a great aesthetic prescence and is of the utmost rarity. The wool pile is woven with the most wonderful colours, and balances an abundance of design elements with impressive clarity of drawing. To date, the carpet’s place of manufacture has not been precisely localised. The upper fragment was introduced by Jeremy Pine in an advertisement in HALI 78, page 56, back in 1994. He described it as a 'Mughal tree and flower carpet' and dated it to the early 18th century. The colours and the depiction of individual flowers, popular in Mughal India, support this conclusion. However, the structure of the carpet possibly argues against an origin in India. It is symmetrically knotted and has blue cotton wefts. If one disregards the symmetrical knot for a moment, the structure of the carpet exhibits a decidedly Persian character. Northwest Persia and Azerbaijan and even Khorasan come to mind, although the colours again point back to India. It is possible that Persian weavers in India worked on this piece – a beautiful enigma. Also included in the sale is a fine Kirman Raver pictorial rug ([Lot 180](. This is one of a group of the finest and most elegant carpets woven in Persia, often bearing inscriptions in cartouches, often naming the master weavers or commissioners. At the top of our carpet, the inscription reads, 'Commissioned by Nawab Wahedi Tabrizi’, above numerous birds fluttering among the floral splendour. In the centre, a bird sits in a relaxed posture on a flower-filled cypress shape, flanked by two heraldic-looking birds of prey. A pair of geese leads to the central medallion, within which a smaller cartouche is located. This cartouche is surprisingly read horizontally, and we discover more geese flanking a cypress on an island. The dark brown background is associated with the early Raver production. The paradisiacal garden splendor continues in the main border, where pairs of birds face each other, separated by cypresses. Another standout offering is a Khotan ([Lot 153]( well-known type of Khotan carpet with the three-medallion design often associated with Tibetan carpets. In our example, this tripartite structure is still discernible, but only the central medallion is typically Central Asian, while the rest of the design is more influenced by Chinese elements. On the beautifully abrash-dyed blue of the circular medallion, there is a pomegranate motif, which has been documented in the Taklamakan Desert as early as the 3rd century AD. This ancient symbol is surrounded by six Chinese butterflies. The meander corners, likely symbolising dragons, that frame the warm red field, are known from classical carpets dating back to the Ming period. The two yellow floral motifs that complete the medallion's triad are also found on multiple niche prayer rugs from the region and are likely borrowed from Mughal Indian culture. View the many other interesting lots in this auction by clicking below. [Fine Antique Oriental Rugs XXXVIII]( [Bid via liveauctioneers]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Website]( Copyright © 2023 Hali Publications, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: HALI Publications 6 Sylvester Path London, Hackney E8 1EN United Kingdom Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Hali Publications Ltd · 6 Sylvester Path · London, England E8 1EN · United Kingdom