Soumak

A square field in a soft ivory-gold ground carries an open, asymmetrical lattice of rust-red vinework scattered with palmettes, small rosettes and blue-tinged leaf forms, one blossom rendered as a stacked medallion in the lower left. The wide border repeats large rust and ivory palmettes alternating with cobalt-blue rosettes along a meandering vine, framed by several narrow guard stripes of small floral trellis in the same rust, blue and ivory palette. The overall coloring stays within muted gold, brick red and indigo throughout, with no other inscription or signature visible.

The field is left entirely open, an expanse of pale, weathered blue-green broken only by faint tonal striations from the pile's nap. It is framed by a wide ivory border filled with a continuous run of stylized floral sprays and palmettes in rust, olive, apricot, and navy, flanked by narrower guard stripes of small rosettes and a slim green band nearest the field.

The rust-red field is arranged in a repeating grid of columnar trees, their trunks rendered in alternating turquoise and ivory, branching into dense arabesques of serrated leaves and small flowering sprays. Birds perch among the branches, interspersed with palmettes in cream, teal, and deep aubergine. The wide border on a slate-blue ground carries a lattice of angular blossoms and star forms, closed by narrow guard stripes, with bold cornice-like palmette medallions marking the corners.

The rust-red field is animated by an axial arrangement of slender cypress-like sprays and palmette clusters, interspersed with small grazing animals rendered in cream and pale blue that appear paired and mirrored throughout the composition. A pale olive-green border filled with scrolling palmettes, rosettes, and angular leaf forms in coral, ivory, and navy frames the field, separated by a narrow patterned guard stripe on a soft pink ground.

An ivory field is arranged in a lattice of interlocking diamonds and stepped medallions, each cell filled with radiating star-form blossoms in rust, navy, and soft gold, alternating with small hooked and checkered devices. A rust-red border of repeating palmettes and vinery frames the composition, separated from the field by a narrow ivory guard band patterned with meandering floral scrolls, with additional slender striped guard stripes in blue-grey and cream running along the inner edge.

The rust-red field carries an all-over lattice of angular vinework in ivory, teal, and mustard, punctuated by repeating cruciform palmettes and small rosettes arranged in vertical columns. A broad dark teal border frames the composition with scrolling palmette-and-leaf vines in ivory, gold, and terracotta, flanked by narrower guard stripes of stylized floral trellis. The overall palette holds close to brick red, deep teal, cream, and ochre throughout.

An ivory field is filled with an overall lattice of large palmettes and serrated leaves in brick red, soft blue-green, and gold, arranged in a symmetrical, mirrored repeat down the length of the piece. The wide rust-red border carries a repeating cartouche of stylized flowerheads in blue, cream, and ochre, framed by narrow guard stripes of small angular blossoms. The palette throughout stays within terracotta, faded blue, and warm ivory, with the corner border motifs resolving cleanly at each turn.

An ivory ground carries an all-over lattice of scrolling palmettes and lobed cartouche medallions in rust, ochre, and sage green, arranged in a repeating diagonal pattern across the field. The main border is a deep petrol blue filled with rosettes and serrated leaves, framed by narrower guard stripes of camel and cream floral vining. Coloring throughout is soft and slightly faded, with rust and blue as the dominant accents against the pale ground.

This elegant and important carpet epitomizes the finest weaving produced by Ziegler & Company, one of the first European firms to begin designing and producing large carpets in Persia specifically for a discriminating Western clientele. Ziegler carpets are known for their beautiful composition, exceptional artistry, the use of the finest wool, as well as vivid natural vegetal dyes.

An octagonal medallion field in a deep rust-red ground is filled with an overall diamond lattice of scrolling vine, hosting small palmettes and rosettes in blue, ivory, and soft green. Ivory spandrels at each corner carry sprays of angular, saw-toothed leaves in rust and slate blue, and the composition is enclosed by a dark indigo border of repeating rosettes and palmette forms between narrow secondary guard stripes in rust and ivory.