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SOFREH COVERING
ISFAHAN, IRAN, 20
TH
CENTURY
a) Handspun and handwoven cotton,
natural dyes, hand painted
35 x 47 in (89 x 120 cm)
b) Handspun and handwoven cotton,
natural dyes, hand painted
35.25 x 46.25 in (90 x 118 cm)
$ 4,550 - 6,065
Rs 3,00,000 - 4,00,000
(Set of two)
Richly painted cotton textiles such as
the ones in the present lot, were made
in a variety of sizes, from bed covers to
small coverlets. The two shown here
are
sofrehs
or covers, and were generally
used as a spread for offering food. The
sofreh
would be spread on the ground
or on a low square table or
khorsi
. This
was a common tradition in Iran, where
people tended to sit on the floor for
meals. These differ from ritual
sofrehs
,
which were used primarily to place
sacred offerings.
The format of the present lot recalls that
of an Iranian carpet, with a central floral
medallion surrounded by trailing plants
and borders of blossoms and flowering
plants.
Sofreh
(b) also has a double layer
of corner motifs, the lower one being
a Cypress tree, with birds amongst the
plants. Both the
sofrehs
conjure up the
ideal of sitting in the midst of a garden in
full bloom. Synonymous with the Islamic
ideal of the Paradise Garden, a popular
recurrent motif in carpets, it symbolised
paradise on earth and its transportation
onto a floor covering illustrates the
notion that all can partake of it.
ab