The Corwin Afshar Collection Review by John J. Collins, Jr. Corwin Afshar Collection, No. 50. Note the absence of vases above and below the medallion and the "eye dazzler" treatment of the corners.

The first interesting aspect of this collection is the very fact of its existence. This work is the product of a mind which long ago focused on a specific group of rugs, forsaking all others. This form of dementia which has so long been recognized (one is not exaggerating to say flaunted) in the rarefied air of Turkomania has manifested itself less frequently in the area of l9th century Persian tribal rugs. Upon viewing this collection, I felt the special kinship which bearers of the same rare disease must experience when they meet at some health spa. While there is a larger group of South Persian tribal rug enthusiasts, those devoting themselves to a single tribal group are rara avis, indeed. Is this important for any other reason than uniqueness?

Yes, it is. The collection produced by such monomaniacal. efforts is an invaluable learning tool. We, as dealers, tend to, forget that the thousands of examples which constitute our mental inventories of comparative material are not available, to the rug collector who spends most of his life doing that which is his life's work. The ability to see, feel and experience enough material to make informed comparative judgments even about those areas which are his special interest takes many years and much serious effort. There is simply no possibility for such a collector to achieve more than a sort of general literacy in other areas. For those who were not specifically interested in this group, an invaluable opportunity was presented to perceive the scope of designs, tonalities, and textures from this area. I am sure that it did not fail to leave them with a more comfortable, feeling about this group, a more real kind of understanding than the mere perusal of book pages may impart.

"A truly remarkable rug," this Afshar boteh rug from the mid-19th century or earlier offers a parchment-like handle and an extremely fine weave. Not published in the Pacific Collections catalog.

Collections like this benefit the specialist by speeding his ascent on the learning curve. The years of work required to assemble comparative examples are offered to us like a gift. The most obvious example of comparative opportunity here is Afshar number 56. This is the only other rug-format example I know with the "Hartley Clark" style boteh. Fortunately for collectors, that rug was also exhibited; I was a bit surprised that they were not adjacently mounted. The most striking aspect of this rug was its intense color. The light blue botehs, it should be noted, were of cotton pile. The greens and gold colors were very pleasing and blended well with the red ground which tended to the yellow spectrum. While the condition of this rug was distressed, it fared well in the inevitable comparison to the nearly destroyed "Hartley Clark" rug. While the graphics of the "Hartley Clark" botehs seem a bit more archaic, the overall cheerfulness of the coloring and the general lack of rigidity in its design make this a more pleasing and a more tribal product than its famous counterpart. Another interesting aspect of this collection is the stage of development it represents. As the general learning tool previously described, it is valuable to see the collection at its present stage. However, from the connoisseur's perspective, the collection has reached critical mass and needs editing. For example, there are several examples of a well known Afshar vase design, consisting of a central medallion with quarter medallion corners. A vase appears above and below the medallion with flowers emerging. This type has been well documented in the literature. Therefore, the inclusion of numbers 46 and 48 which are mediocre examples is unnecessary; number 50, however, is a glorious variation on the theme. The typical medallion of this group appears on a white ground. The floral forms appear above and below it, but the vases are absent. The most stimulating aspect of the rug is the "eye dazzler" treatment of the corners. The lower corners are straight, but the upper ones waver. Evidently the weaver had some difflculty reversing the direction of the design. The result is very pleasing. Another interesting touch was the connection of the corners at the sides of the sides of field, leaving a little white space along the border. The warp and weft of this piece are both white cotton. There was also an Afshar juval which displayed the medallion from this group.

The association of bag designs to well-known rug conventions was another pleasing result of having so many available examples from the same group. One of the Afshar juvals displayed a turreted style medallion which was featured in one of the Afshar rugs in my "Birds and Vases" catalog. Another well-proportioned juval displayed a single panel of the "lattice and tulip" design, identified so strongly with the Hajji Baba catalog example. However, Afshar number 57 is a beautiful example of the design executed in a more tribal fashion. This piece is distinguished by its abrashed light to medium blue ground. The drawing is spacious and robust. A single flowerhead border frames this squarish composition. The lattice only has three repeats each way and consequently can be read as a diamond with an "x" through it. I liked the spirit of this piece.

There was also a nice series of bags which displayed the "geometrical Herati" design found in many rug-sized Afshars. Each of these focused on the repeating design in a different way. The most successful was a white bordered juval with the design slightly shifted to the right and random fill in the consequent space on the left. Others were more typical in design and coloring or were too small to have much drama in their focus and could be edited from the collection, not for lack of quality but simply for redundancy. One of these pieces had full-bodied birds, instead of the small geometrical "shrimp-like" figures which all the others in this group had. This piece had good color and age but was a somewhat eccentric focus on the design, falling between a repeat but missing the serrated devices which are normally featured there. A third central blossom appeared at the end, sans birds. The weaver was obviously confused here.

My favorite example was a 3' 1/2" square Afshar boteh design rug which may have been a dowry piece, meant for a table or cloth. The weave is very fine and the handle flexible. The open drawing of the botehs and the graceful vines separating them was elegant. The colors are deeply saturated and the pale blue and green were particularly pleasing. This was a mid-l9th century example in terrific condition. This field design appears also in the soumak technique saddle rug, number 43. This very handsome piece was the standout among a large group of flatweave and embroidered bags which were interesting but none so old or beautiful as the saddle piece. This was particularly distinguished by its green and blue colors and the exquisite detail in the elegant borders.

I cannot close without mentioning an extraordinary Afshar boteh rug from at least the mid- l9th century. The red field tended towards a mellow cochineal tone which complimented the pale yellow outlining of the botehs. The densely filled field avoided monotony by its wavering horizontal lines and vertical offset of the figures .The real stunning aspect of this rug cannot, however, be communicated by a picture. The magic is in the parchment handle of the piece. It has the finest weave that I have ever seen in Afshar worlk. The fine ivory woolen warps are as thin and tight as a silk Senneh. This is a truly remarkable rug.

Space limitations prohibit discussion of many other examples which richy deserve it. This collection is ready for re-evaluation and serious editing. Considerations of aesthetic and practical matters such as condition should guide this process.As a study group, the tolerance of poor condition allowed many comparative examples to be considered. If the collection is to progress to the next level it should be determined which examples might be readily available in good condition. I have never allowed condition to stand in the way of appreciating great old irreplaceable examples. Many examples here, however, are available in excellent condition. I sincerely hope that serious work is done on refining this group and cataloging it for the benefit of those who collect South Persian rugs.

This collection was a particular feast for me with my longstanding commitment to the tribal and village work of southern Persia. I am confident that others with less specialized interests were amply rewarded as well. Thank you, Jack, for a great show.