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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.
Haj Agha Reza Seirafian's seven sons:
Mohammed Ali Seirafian
Mohammad Seirafian
The Late Mohammad
Sadegh Seirafian
Ahmad Seirafian
Ali Seirafian
The Late Hossien Seirafian
Mohammad
Hassan Seirafian
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Provenance:
The provenance of a rug is becoming ever more
important. The difference between a very good quality Isfahan carpet
and a signed Seirafian carpet can be considerable. So the authenticity
of the signature and thereby the rug is a factor in valuation.
How
do I know that the rug to the left is a Seirafian? (Signature above) I
have the advantage that I know it is because Mohammad Seirafian
personally showed it to me as an example of his work and posed for a
picture with it. How else can we authenticate a Seirafian Rug:
Documentation.
A bill of sale, a shipping document, a letter from
Seirafian are all good.In this article we have four rugs authenticated
by the workshop of Sadegh Seirafian. The documentation is by email
which is less desirable than a letter but it certainly helps
in authentication. If the documentation is not from Seirafian
themselves then the dealer is important.For instance when it comes to
questions about Seirafian rugs I would accept the opinion of Mr. Rahim
Soltani of Beverly Hills without question. Documentation that you
bought a rug from Mr. Soltani would be very convincing. On the other
hand a stack of documentation from "Shifty-Dealer" on eBay would mean
virtually nothing.
Other factors come into play besides paperwork. We
may expect a signed Seirafian workshop piece to be no less that 9 by 10
knots to the centimeter. We can expect the workmanship to be
exceptional. I would not expect to see retied broken warps. However
with the variation of the width of the cotton wefts I would not expect
the weave to have a rigid grid like uniformity.
Isfahan Rug
A note about the signatures in this article except
for the montage of signature forgers all rugs on this page are
authentic to the very best of my knowledge. They were authenticated by
Mohammed Seirafian, the workshop of Sadegh Seirafian, or Mr. Rahim
Soltani of Beverly Hills.
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We have to be aware of fakes and forgeries because
people are making a business out of the fraud. Here we have a montage
of signature forgers taken in Isfahan a few years ago.
Keep in mind that forgers are adding the signatures to
lesser quality rugs. The first place to spot a fake is on the basis of
weave, design and sophistication.
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Mohammad
Seirafian Plate 14 Top and Bottom Signatures
I sharpened up the contrast to enhance the
signature. Unfortunately it throws the color off.
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What does the signature really mean?
In the very best rugs it is a guarantee that the rug is
of first quality. Above we see a rug that failed to meet Seirafian
standards and was cut. When one considers the cost of production
cutting a rug is a serious thing. Seirafian feels that selling a
substandard rug is even more serious. An authentic signature is that
guarantee.
Guide to Seirafian of
Isfahan
Oriental
Rugs the O'Connell Notes
Copyright
Barry O'Connell 2004 - 2007
Last revised:
October 05, 2009.
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