#20106
Origin: Persia
Region: NW Persia
Type: Tabriz Haji Jalili
Size: 12’ 9” x 20’ 6”
Circa 1890s
The rust red field displays an overall pattern derived from the general pool of Islamic textile motives, most specifically from the Persian 16th and 17th centuries. The Tabriz carpet designers created thousands of distinct patterns based on this repertoire of rumis (split arabesques), islimis (curving vines), palmettes, flower heads, leaves and other quasi-vegetal ornaments. The main border part takes elements of this same design. The cloud band minor borders descend almost directly from classical Persian prototypes of the 1st half of the 16th century.
The wool pile is typically Tabriz – brisk, erect, firm, and slightly dry. In the best qualities it is an excellent long wearing material. In great part it originates in the immediate area and is processed in Tabriz where it is spun by hand via spindles rather than wheels.
The attribution to “Haji Jalili” is traditional. There are only a few carpets actually and unequivocally signed “Haji Jalili”. The assumption of a much larger group is based on physical similarities: same knotting style and pile treatment, general quality, etc. As of course, “Haji Jalili” if he is at all responsible for the carpet, did not actually weave it. Indeed, he probably never laid a constructive hand on it. The rug workshop consisted of actual weaving operatives, supervisors, managers and others responsible for the whole manufacturing and marketing process. It is most appropriate to consider this term as a quality level rather than an attribution of origin. Even though no archrival evidence has come to light confirming “Haji Jalil’s” ownership of a rug factory in Tabriz in the late 19th century, the term is generally accepted as referring to a distinct group of carpets of high quality made from 1880 to 1900 in Tabriz often in very large sizes.
The color variation (Abrash) in the field may have several distinct causes. In such a large carpet they may have been an insufficient initial batch to complete the entire field. Since dyeing was even in the most accomplished ateliers, something of a hit or miss procedure, color matching may not have been entirely successful, or the dyes may have aged differently after matching initially on exposure to light and washing agents. The color divergence may have developed over time. Further, chemical treatment which in Tabriz meant a light wash in lime water and which was applied to most local production, may accentuate underlying differences. The variation in the secondary colors may be a conscious choice to vary details in such a large rug.
The area near the border on one hand of variance may be a furniture mark, the result of protection from light by a chair or other piece of furniture. This area has a more saturated tone than the rest of the section.
Large Tabriz carpets of the late 19th century are almost invariably custom orders from overseas clients via the dealer network in NY and London. The large size indicates that the client was probably American.
The almost complete lack of dark blue is quite unusual. The rumi arabesque varies in color row wise along the length of the carpet, thereby giving a very large piece a sense of movement and lightness. This color change is subtler in the underlying islimis. To add further interest, the field pattern is not exactly balanced top to bottom. Further, the paired curving leaves change color in succeeding rows. What could have been a monotonous creation has become a lively and movement filled piece. The development of the pattern is almost temporal, a progressive elaboration on a basic theme. This “Haji Jalili” Tabriz carpet has all the characteristics of a sustained work of art.
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