Aristocratic Ferahan Sarouk 1890
ARISTOCRATIC Ferahan Sarouk 1890
6 ft 8 inches x 4 foot 4 inches
From a prominent East Coast, USA dealer
Ferahan Sarouk carpets produced around the wider Arak (formerly Sultanabad) area from about 1850-1910 earned a deserved reputation as amongst the most desirable and imaginative finely woven carpets in Persia. As these things go, they morphed in style around 1910- 1920 into the differently woven Mahajirhan Sarouk fashion (quality examples of which are also in demand ) and then disappeared entirely.
Their desirability rests not only on fine weaving, and excellent wool. Many of the better examples were commissioned by aristocrats or wealthy merchants who encouraged creativity, one source of their excellence.
Beyond this lay a more fundamental and seemingly contradictory set of motivations by the weavers. At one and the same time they sought to emulate the great court carpets in finesse and design, and yet-- they applied rustic or village, and even tribal elements and nuances to their designs. The result was a cavalcade of creativity.
So, a village-based genre came into being which produced primarily an approx. 6x4 rug size format, and provided, if more rarely, larger formats, which command increasingly high prices, due to their rarity, visual excitement and grandeur.
The artistic achievement of this “school” had to do with marrying elegance and a degree of formalism with whimsy, and design innovation. They offer a charm and a certain magic beyond that of court and most city carpets ..
As in any area or era, there is a quality spectrum ranging from mediocre to highly superior. Superiority is judged of course as to weave and wool quality. It is rather unusual, though, to encounter pieces made before 1890 - which are bona fide Ferahan Sarouks- with poor wool or weaving: standards were upheld during this period, and natural dyes employed universally.
Thus, as an investment collectible to adorn the home we believe the ultimate criterion is aesthetics, this being an art form, after all.
Ferahan Sarouks have been a special area of interest for us over the decades both from artistic and investment perspectives.
Allowing for personal taste, our suggestions are few and simple. A Ferahan Sarouk ought to display a wide colour palette, fine drawing and delicate, sometimes “intense “detail. The finest pieces also display balance in the use of space.
We have seen many finely woven pieces which in our view are garish and lack one of the two key artistic elements intrinsic to the better examples of this genre – elegance. Sometimes they are overly cluttered; the drawing artistry is muddled or lost. In other cases odd and ineffective design devices are used, detracting from or interfering with an otherwise good design. The era of the Ferahan Sarouk was rife with experiment, not all of them successful.
The other important attribute, when it can be found, is original artistic creativity, even serendipity, -- or effective design innovation within the compass of this rug type and the unique standards of its prime period.
On average, we examine between 30-40 antique Ferahan Sarouks to achieve one acquisition, for the benefit of our clients.
This striking 130-year-old piece projects an aristocratic bearing and recalls the grand court carpet tradition, in miniature.
Its wide colour palette is very well applied and the drawing of the central medallion especially fine. Note please how the two extended “branches “which extend from the lower half of the medallion progress through a range of colours and refer to the drawing and colours of the outer field. Indeed, this sort of drawing is fine and original artistry as it extends imaginatively from the essentially classical, formal medallion.
This is the inspired level by the weaver/designer we look for in a collectible Ferahan Sarouk.
What is also impressive is the subtle but highly effective use of space around the edges and sides of the reserve – this provides relief from the energy within the piece and balances the composition.
The rug is very finely woven in excellent wool, soft and in virtually as new condition, remarkably, for its age.
As a high decorative item it would beautifully adorn any number of spaces in a contemporary home or apartment.
We have acquired this singular rug as part of a substantial trade and are able to provide it at below comparative market value.
30% reduction
$12,750
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