Persian
Rugs
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Persian Rugs the O'Connell GuideIsfahan
Rugs: Guide to Seirafian of Isfahan |
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Modern and traditional design. Armenian too! www.TufenkianCarpets.com |
Discontinued and one of kind rugs. www.TufenkianOutlet.com |
Custom area rugs by Tufenkian |
| When we hear Seirafian in the market place it
may mean a carpet by any one of 32 Seirafians of
Isfahan who produce carpets. Recently I started
an Attribution
Guide to Seirafian Rug Signatures to help
sort the family out for the collector.
Consequently the market value and the esthetic
qualities vary greatly. My hope is that by
collecting information as it becomes available it
will help establish what is real and what is
true.
Haj Agha Reza Seirafian did not do it by himself. From the time he started producing the rugs his son Mohammad Seirafian worked with him and they extensively used the work of Ahmad Archang the great Isfahan designer for much of their work. After Mohammad other sons and grandsons came into the carpet business to where I now understand that there are 32 Seirafians living and dead counted among the Masters of Isfahan Rugs. |
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Haj Agha Reza Seirafian's seven sons:
There are also to my understanding 24 Grandsons who produce carpets. I do not have much information on the third generation except for the sons of Sadegh and Mohammad Seirafian.
Mohammad Seirafian's three sons are great masters in their own right. With a limited number of examples my wife Jodi and I found the carpets of Bagher to be most outstanding but we look forward to see more from Mojtaba and Mahdi. Of the rest of the third generation I can say little. However a European has a large assortment of mundane quality signed Seirafians which makes me wonder if all maintain the quality that Mohammed's sons achieve. I hope that we can get more examples and information on the whole family |
Examples from the
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From my Attribution Guide to Seirafian Rug Signatures
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The
Sadegh Seirafian medallion Rug This rug has been authenticated by the workshop of the late Master Sadegh Seirafian. |
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A worry today is counterfeit rugs with the Seirafian signature. See Fake Serafian Signatures. Mohammad Seirafian mentioned to me that it was a problem with the old signatures but that they added a signature in English and Farsi. Mohammad Seirafian said that he never saw one of these forged. Still one should keep in mind that the older Seirafians have the older signature. Provenance becomes important. It is best to know where the rug has been.
Estimating Dates
It is not unusual to see a Seirafian dated as early as 1910 or 1920. The father and founder of the house Haj Agha Reza Seirafian did not enter into the rug business until 1939.
Old Auction Notes:
Sale Title ORIENTAL RUGS AND CARPETS
Location London, King Street Sale Date Oct 14, 2004
Lot Number 106 Sale Number 6941
Creator BY MUHAMMAD 'ALI SEIRAFIAN, CENTRAL PERSIA, CIRCA
1920
Lot Title AN ISFAHAN SEIRAFIAN CARPET
Estimate 20,000 - 30,000 British pounds
Price Realized Unsold
Special Notice No VAT will be charged on the hammer
price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's
premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis
Lot Description AN ISFAHAN SEIRAFIAN CARPET
BY MUHAMMAD 'ALI SEIRAFIAN, CENTRAL PERSIA, CIRCA 1920
The ivory field with overall scrolling arabesques with
palmettes issuing delicate flowering and leafy vine
around a central tomato-red and ivory medallion with
pendants containing palmettes and flowering vine
enclosing a rosette centerpiece of similar design, the
mid-blue spandrels similar, in a shaded tomato-red border
of palmettes linked by delicate scrolling tendrils and
serrated leaves between ivory and mid-blue floral meander
stripes, plain narrow tomato-red outer stripe, signed at
one end, "Iran Carpet, Isfahan, the order of
Muhammad 'Ali Seirafian", full pile throughout,
minute spot stains in the central field, may benefit from
a light clean
11ft.5in. x 7ft.7in. (347cm. x 231cm.)
FINE ORIENTAL AND EUROPEAN RUGS AND CARPETS
SALE L09325
SESSION 1 | 21 Apr 99 2:00 PM.
London, New Bond Street
LOT 41
A fine Esfahan Seirafian rug
2,500—3,500 GBP
Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 2,875 GBP
DESCRIPTION
A fine Esfahan Seirafian rug
Central Persia
with a signature cartouche reading: 'S Seirafian Esfahan.
Iran'
183 by 113cm. 6ft. by 3ft. 9in.
Knotting V/H cm: 12/11
A Brief History About Sadegh Seirafian
The late Master HAJ AGHA REZA SEIRAFIAN 1881 - 1975 is
the founder of Seirafian carpet. Mr. Seirafian was a very
reputable private banker sarraf (1) in Esfahan and
because of his credibility he was respected by all
individuals. Although he was very active in his private
banking but he loved the art of genuine carpet. This
strong interest brought him about starting a new line of
business in the field of hand woven carpet. His
philosophy was to produce rugs which were unique and
supreme in quality. To achieve his goals he managed to
employ the most accountable designers and skillful
weavers and natural dyes as raw materials for his rugs
and carpets. To give the assurance of quality in his work
he started to weave his family name "SEIRAFIAN"
at the bottom of the carpet he was producing. The quality
of his carpet was so that after a short time his carpets
became very popular among the traders and interested
individuals, who were attracted to them. His sons were
persuaded by him in this film and they showed they
interest by working a long. Sadegh Seirafian, one of his
sons, who had just finished his high school, went after
his father way while having a plenty of interest, began
to produce carpets in his own while he was helping his
father and marked his carpets Sadegh Seirafian. He
followed the same philosophy as his father and took
advantage of the well known modern masters, added his new
ideas and developed this art to the point where you can
see his works in many museums, collection and places
around the world.
[22 February, 2003]
http://www.iran-e-abad.com/News/Detail.asp?NewsID=931794982954981
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Oriental Rugs the O'Connell Notes
Copyright Barry
O'Connell 2004 - 2007
Last revised: May 29, 2008.