Lot 109

INDIAN PRISON RUG AGRA

Hand knotted wool carpet on cotton warp. The Indian tradition of carpet knotting, although heavily inspired by the Persian court pieces of the Safia dynasty, has evolved in a very distinctive way since the 16th century and has achieved remarkable success in the field of design and materials. This fine craftsmanship was continued by the British colonial authorities, under whose tutelage, during the 19th century, surprisingly high quality and interesting carpets began to be knotted in various prisons in British India - these were placed in a separate and truly fascinating category called prison carpets. Taking into account that our carpet is not one of any known regional or manufactory textiles, and that various attributes place it in the Indian tradition, it is safe to conclude that it is probably a prison carpet from the Agra region of northern India. Among other things, it is revealed by its attractive purple colour, which is exceedingly specific and comes from the excretions of female lac worms (Kerria lacca), a dye typical of Agra. The seemingly austere floral design in the cassette design and in saffron yellow, black and cobalt blue contrasts gracefully with the purple and makes our specimen an extremely original creation. Professionally cleaned on both sides.