A SOUMAC BLOSSOM AND PALMETTE CARPET

The archaic design of ascending columns of blossoms and palmettes clearly derives from the 'Dragon and Palmette' group of classical Caucasian carpets woven in the 17th century which are discussed by Serare Yetkin, Early Caucasian Carpets in Turkey, Vol.II, London, 1978, pls. 137-8 and 187. A comparable example in terms of age and design was sold at Christie's London, 16 April 2007, lot 15. Another related soumac was sold at Sotheby's, London, 12 October 2005, lot 11. The design is found in both flatwoven soumacs and pile carpets. A pile rug with this design is illustrated in E.Heinrich Kircheim et al., Orient Stars, a Carpet Collection, Stuttgart and London, 1933, no.60, p.125. A looser interpretation of both the field and border design can be found in a Dagestan soumac woven carpet illustrated by Ulrich Schurmann, Caucasian Rugs, Braunschweig, 1961, no.120, pp.310-11.