Malayer 1890
circa 1890 A STAGGERING MALAYER
10.5 x 4 feet
Acquired from an Australian Collector’s Estate Sale
Pictured in the previous owner’s home, this staggering Malayer piece is displayed beneath a Steinway B (7 feet long ) piano.
It is the most dramatic example of a “mother and child” Boteh (seed of life symbol, originating in India adopted in Persia in the late 17th century) motif we have witnessed.
A simple boteh design is found not infrequently in Afshar rugs and occasionally enough elsewhere -not often in Malayers . A mother and child configuration is fairly rare, usually consisting of one smaller boteh enclosed by another, typically in much smaller overall dimensions than here.
In this case the Botehs are much larger than normal, containing three smaller ones as well as other designs which are abstract bird figures.
The result of this design is an explosion of positive energy: it appears as a flowing river. This effect is partly due to the use of the flower and vine figures which intersperse the oversize Botehs and provide a sense of movement to the composition.
This can be seen several ways as art. One of which is as an overflowing testimony to pregnancy and motherhood – indeed it would make a deeply affecting—and unique- celebratory gift to a new mother.
From another perspective -as design abetted by coloration- it is a triumph. The drawing is simple enough, but no one seems to have tried this approach before or since – this is a one-time original conception. The way in which the black, yellow and deliberately lighter red hues are interspersed create an exceptionally high level of dynamism, movement.
It is not an absurdity to suggest that the artistic structures and forces at play here—and a respect for the power of color -- are obliquely related to, for example, a work by Jackson Pollock. This would pertain to his pre drip period work as well - concerning color, image and symbolism.
An examination of how and where the colors of emerald green, sea green, lavender, intense pink, electric blue and tangerine are deployed onto the “canvas” illustrates the artist- as- weaver’s creative grasp.
Malayer (also spelled Malayir) is one of the oldest weaving villages in the Hamadan district, Western Persia, and known for high quality, since at least the early 19th century. Though their several common design motifs are semi-geometric and may sometimes include botehs, a piece such as this one is, to our knowledge, unprecedented.
This is a medium weave carpet in excellent condition with no repairs. It could feature in a grand home or large apartment in a variety of places. Its present position under a piano struck us as inspired. According to the deceased former owner’s wife, it had a salutary effect on her husband’s playing of Bach.
$32,000
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