Exceptional Early Ziegler Sultanabad carpet

Persian,  circa 1880.

15ft 9in x  10ft 9in   :  480cm x 323cm.

In 1876, the Manchester-based Swiss firm of Ziegler and Co. became the first European concern to establish their own looms in Sultanabad, Persia, for the production of carpets specifically to the Western markets.

The designs used were mainly repeated all-over patterns, though Ziegler used principles of architectural proportions to make the motifs much larger and incorporated wide borders, thus keeping a balance with the scale of a room.

The bold design with enlarged palmettes, sickle leaves and connecting stems, exemplifies a Ziegler at its extreme, even verging towards a fantasy. Of note also is the exceptionally beautiful border. Perhaps one of the best we have encountered in forty years.

Literature:    

Arto Keshishian,  The Antique Collector,  Ziegler and Their Carpets, 1995.