Mahal Sarouk Rugs
Examples of Mahal Sarouk Rugs & Carpets
Background
In the US we think of Arak as the area Sarouk Persian carpets come from. Rug weaving was traditional in Arak. To try and set a beginning date for rugs from Arak is nearly impossible. It is likely that it dates back easily hundreds and more likely thousands of years. However there is a very distinct commercial era that we can track. Circa 1875 Persian carpet merchants from Tabriz began to organize commercial production for the export market. It is the shift from traditional Persian handicrafts to carpets specifically designed for the European market that is significant here.
Note long after the Tabriz merchants began doing business European companies such as Hotz and Son and Ginskey and Reichart the precursor to Ziegler and Co. set up shop. By 1883 Ziegler bought out Ginskey and Reichart and revolutionized the business.
As I look though Mahal Persian carpets I see three separate design trends. There is a clear European/Ziegler influence. These typically have a non-traditional interpretation of a traditional Persian design. There there is the Tabriz influence, carpets that seem close to Tabriz carpets of the era. The final group is the more traditional Central Persian designs such as we see immediately to the right. keep in mind that many of the women who worked in Ziegler’s factory went home at night to weave on their own.
The 1870s and 1880s were a time of upheaval in Persia. The Qajar Shahs were granting all sorts of franchises to operate businesses in Persia to European companies. At the same time the Europeans were seeking to buy the art and religious treasures of Persia on which the Persians placed relatively little value. The looting was so bad that what is now England’s Victoria & Albert museum contracted with men to loot Persian art and Islamic religious items. Men who would be aghast at someone stealing from an English church were paying people to loot treasures from Islamic mosques.
As the treasures of Persia passed through the hands of the European merchants they were used as models for the carpet designs.
Ziegler-Mahal
Ziegler Rugs of Arak – In 1883, Ziegler and Co., of Manchester, England, established a Persian carpet manufacture in Sultanabad (now Arak), Iran, employing designers from major Western department stores, like B. Altman and Liberty of London, to modify fanciful 16th- and 17th-century Eastern designs for the more restrained Western taste. Using highly developed dying techniques (which Ziegler futilely attempted to copyright) and the best artisans from the region, Ziegler created rugs with bold, allover patterns and with softer palettes than their vibrant Persian counterparts. Ziegler rugs developed an almost immediate following, especially among newly monied Western industrialists; early collectors included the Guinness family, the owners of the stout-beer manufacture, who laid them in Elveden Hall, their Suffolk, England, estate. http://www.farsinet.com/arak/
The key to understanding Ziegler Mahal carpet is that Ziegler organized production on their own looms with their own designs. Ziegler designers started with the standard Persian designs such as forked tendrils, palmettes, and rosettes and then adapted them for the European market.
Examples
Camel and Lion Mahal Carpet C. 1890
A MAHAL CARPET, CENTRAL Persia,
MEASUREMENTS
Approximately 20ft. 11in. by 13ft. 6in. (6.37 by 4.11m.)
DESCRIPTION
circa 1890 oxidized browns and greens, minor partial ends, partially rewoven end guard stripes, partially reselvaged, Kashmiri repiling, tinting,
Mahal Carpet C. 1900
Mahal. Persia. circa 1900. 434 x 328cm.
Mahal Carpet circa 1900
Mahal Carpet
Central Persia, circa 1900.
Scattered repiled areas, approximately 17 ft. 10 in. by 11 ft. 8 in. (5.44 by 3.56 m.)
Mahal Carpet early 20th century
A Mahal CARPET, CENTRAL Persia,
MEASUREMENTS
Approximately 14ft. 4in. by 12ft. 7in. (4.37 by 3.83m.)
DESCRIPTION
Early 20th century reduced in size, rewoven end border,
Mahal Carpet End 19th century
Mahal. Persia End 19th century
DIMENSIONS 327 x 257cm.
Old Mahal Carpet
Mahal. Persia.
DIMENSIONS 429 x 318cm.
Mahal Carpet with Luri Mahal Border early 20th century
Mahal carpet, North West Persia early 20th century,
12ft.3in. x 9ft. 1in. 3.73m. x 2.77m.
Mahal Carpet, 2nd half 20th century
Mahal Carpet North West Persia second half 20th century,
12ft.11in. x 10ft.4in. 3.94m. x 3.15m. Very slight even wear.
Mahal carpet C. 1900
Mahal carpet,
North West Persia, about 1900, 9ft.9in. x 8ft.7in. 2. 97m. x 2.62m.
Slight wear in places, slight kinking.
Original retailers’ band on reverse.
Mahal Carpet, C. 1920
Mahal carpet, North West Persia about 1920,
11ft.9in. x 8ft.9in. 3. 58m. x 2.67m.
Mahal Carpet, C. 1920
Mahal carpet, North West Persia about 1920,
11ft.3in. x 8ft.2in. 3. 43m. x 2.49m.
Overall wear, heavier in lower half, some colour. run.
Mahal Carpet, early 20th
Mahal carpet, North West Persia early 20th century,
12ft.3in. x 9ft. 4in. 3.73m. x 2.85m.a £2700-3000
Mahal Carpet C. 1890
A Mahal CARPET, CENTRAL Persia,
MEASUREMENTS
Approximately 12ft. 9in. by 10ft. 8in. (3.89 by 3.25m.)
DESCRIPTION
circa 1890 original end finish one end, other end with partial end guard stripe, overcast sides, minor reweaves, repiling, partially oxidized browns,
Mahal Carpet C. 1900
A Mahal Carpet, CENTRAL Persia
MEASUREMENTS
Approximately 9ft. 1in. by 8ft. 6in. (2.77 by 2.59m.)
DESCRIPTION
Circa 1900 oxidized charcoals, reduced in size, missing outer guard borders, overcast sides, tinting,
Mahal Carpet C. 1900
A Mahal CARPET, CENTRAL Persia,
MEASUREMENTS
Approximately 13ft. 4in. by 9ft. 10in. (4.06 by 3.00m.)
DESCRIPTION
Circa 1900 overcast sides, missing outer guard stripes,
Mahal Carpet C. 1910
A Mahal CARPET, CENTRAL Persia,
MEASUREMENTS
Approximately 19ft. 7in. by 10ft. 11in. (5.97 by 3.33m.)
DESCRIPTION
Circa 1910 overcast sides, tinting, Kashmiri repiling,
Mahal Carpet Carpet C. 1895
A Mahal CARPET, CENTRAL Persia,
MEASUREMENTS
Approximately 15ft. 4in. by 11ft. 4in. (4.67 by 3.45m.)
DESCRIPTION
Circa 1895 partially oxidized browns and khakis,
Mahal Carpet C. 1890
Mahal CARPET, CENTRAL PERSIA,
MEASUREMENTS
Approximately 22ft. 3in. by 20ft. 1in. (6.78 by 6.12m.)
DESCRIPTION
circa 1890 oxidized taupes, minor foldwear, minor moth damage, minor repiling and reweaving, minor cloth patches sewn to reverse, missing side outer guard borders, side open narrow guard stripes reattached,
Mahal Meditation Carpet late 19th C.
A Mahal MEDITATION CARPET, CENTRAL Persia,
MEASUREMENTS
Approximately 14ft. 1in. by 10ft. 3in. (4.29 by 3.12m.)
DESCRIPTION
Late 19th century overcast sides, minor partial ends, reweaves
Mahal Prayer Rug C. 1900
A Mahal prayer rug, West Persia, circa 1900
MEASUREMENTS
200 by 156cm. 6ft. 7in. by 5ft. 2in
Mahal rug C. 1900
A Mahal carpet, West Persia, circa 1900
MEASUREMENTS
314 by 206cm. 10ft. 4in. by 6ft. 9in.
Mahal Rug C. 1920-30
Persian Mahal rug,
Northwest Persia about 1920-30,
7ft.5in. x 4ft.6in. 2. 26m. x 1.37m.
Areas of slight wear in field.
Mahal Carpet C. 1890
Mahal CARPET, CENTRAL PERSIA,
MEASUREMENTS
Approximately 13ft. 2in. by 10ft. 3in. (4.01 by 3.12m.)
DESCRIPTION
Circa 1890 remnants of original end finishes, moth damage,
Mahal Carpet C. 1900
Mahal CARPET, CENTRAL PERSIA,
MEASUREMENTS
Approximately 17ft. 1in. by 11ft. 10in. (5.21 by 3.61m.)
DESCRIPTION
Circa 1900 partially oxidized greens and taupes, Kashmiri repiling, overcast sides,
Mahal Carpet C. 1900
Mahal circa 1900.
DIMENSIONS 452 x 330cm
Mahal Carpet late 19th century
Mahal carpet
MEASUREMENTS
354 by 316cm. 11ft. 7in. by 10ft. 5in.
Mahal Carpet, circa 1900
368 cm. x 260 cm.
This exquisite rug features beautifully drawn blooming flowers on a light background.
Ziegler Mahal Carpet, late 19th century
348 cm. x 235 cm.
Original all around with only minor damages to the sides. There is minor moth damage and some traces of wear. Otherwise, everything is in good condition.
Ziegler Mahal Carpet, late 19th century
16 ft. 7 in. x 13 ft. 9 in.
Mahal prayer rug, circa 1900
200 cm. x 156 cm.
Camal and Lion Mahal Carpet, circa 1890
20 ft. 11 in. x 13 ft. 6 in.
The rug features oxidized browns and greens, minor partial ends, and partially rewoven end guard stripes. The rug is partially reselvaged with Kashmiri repiling and tinting.
Mosque of the Imam Reza Mahal Carpet
7 ft. x 10 ft. 4 in.
This is a beautiful old Mahal rug. It’s an older carpet, but is in nearly perfect condition. This is one of the rugs deacessioned from the collection of the Mosque of the Imam Reza when the Mosque sold off pieces to raise funds.
Doris Leslie Blau Mahal Carpet, circa 1895
15 ft. 4 in. x 11 ft. 4 in.
Contains partially oxidized browns and khakis.
Mahal Carpet, early 20th century
15 ft. 4 in. x 11 ft. 4 in.
Contains partially oxidized browns and khakis.