The so called ‘Sultanabad’ carpets produced for the German firm of Ziegler in the Arak region of Persia represent the very finest examples of the Mahal type. In the later nineteenth century, as the western appetite for Oriental carpets increased dramatically, European firms ceased simply to import; they began to open production centers in Persia and to become involved in the design of the carpets as well. Woven to meticulous standards of technique and color, Sultanabads combined a taste for Classical Persian elegance with a desire for monumental grandeur. Here the field utilizes a staggered array of classical Persian harshang and rosette-form palmettes along with smaller rosette-filled diamonds, all arranged within a mina khani or trellis design of interlacing vines. Smaller floral sprays of vies and blossoms fill the intervening spaces. An elegant vinescroll main border with vines and large rosettes set again a rich terracotta ground nicely complements the soft golden ground of the field. Additional minor vinescroll and rosette borders reinforce the main one, allowing it to frame the field effectively despite the comparable scale and finesse of both. Here the design, color and superb draftsmanship embody the high standards for which Sultanabads were famed.
