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Persian
Rugs
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Persian
Rugs the O'Connell Guide |
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| 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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The
Sadegh
Seirafian medallion Rug
This rug has been authenticated by the workshop of the late Master Sadegh Seirafian. |
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.
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:
October 05, 2009.