Christie’s spring Oriental Rugs & Carpets auction on April 19 in London is headlined by an amazing trio of 17th-century Kerman ‘Vase-technique’ carpets, from old Persia, that were once the property of Baroness Alice de Rothschild, member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of Austria.

One of the carpets woven in the southeastern Kerman Province, about 300 years ago, (251cm by 151cm) is estimated at $1,420,000-$2,130,000, Hali.com reported.

The other two carpets belonging to Alice de Rothschild, are estimated at $570,000-$850,000 and $355,000-$500,000.

Kerman carpets are one of the traditional classifications of Persian carpets. Kerman has been a major center for the production of high quality carpets since at least the 15th century.

In the world of antique Persian rugs, Kerman carpets are celebrated as being among the best. Kerman rugs are prized by collectors for a myriad of reasons, which includes but not limited to: a wide range of designs, a broad pallet, utilization of natural dyes and fibers, immense tensile strength and abrasion resistance, and expert color combinations.

Their motifs are woven based on market demand. Not only all well-known and original Persian motifs, but you can find western motifs in Kerman rugs, including striped motifs, various repetitive motifs, vase, Toranj (citron), symmetric, and also garden, animal shapes, predaceous and pictorial rugs.

The design pattern of Kerman carpets are also a distinct feature. Vase carpets, a type of Kerman rug distinctive of the 16th and 17th centuries, are characterized by an allover pattern of stylized flowers and oversized palmettes with vases placed throughout the field.

A total of 189 antique carpets, rugs and kilims in different sizes and styles are put on sale.

Among other Persian rugs presented in the auction are a Bakhtiari (a southwestern Persian tribe) carpet from Iran, circa 1900, estimated at $20,000–28,000 and a Qashqai (southern and southwestern tribe in Iran) rug, circa 1890. The latter, 245cm by 190cm, is estimated at $11,000-$17,000.
A Bakhtiari carpet from Iran, circa 1900, estimated at $20,000–28,000.

A Qashqai rug, south Persia, circa 1890, estimated at $11,000-$17,000.

By Financial Tribune