Posted on Monday 9 May 2005
In answer to a query on the OrientalRug discussion site on the relative merits of an Isfahan rug signed Davari [1] and a Nain carpet signed Habibian, Dr. Khosrow Sobhe of Los Angeles remarks:
The signature of the Isfahan rug is real, but the signature of the Nain is not. How can you tell? Take a close look at the signature of the Nain. It has entered (i.e. partially covered - ed.) the two lotus flowers which surround the signature. (A) real signature (knotted) by the weaver when making that part of the rug does not interfere with other (surrounding) parts of the design…. The signature should not over-ride other parts of the neighboring flowers, arabesques or details.
Here is the Habibian signature in question:
Bearing Dr. Sobhe’s remarks in mind, the above signature can be compared to the only Habibian signature captioned as authentic on the Habibian page of OldCarpet.com, namely this one:
While the OldCarpet.com Nain is a great deal finer and more beautiful than the OrientalRug Nain, and we may take OldCarpet.com’s word for it that it is authentic, does it bear out the ‘Sobhe test’? Maybe, or there again - maybe not. I would say the side edges of the OldCarpet.com signature cartouche impinge upon the dark blue leaves of the flanking arabesque repeat, rather than being integrated with the pattern as the Sobhe test requires. The signature section may not be so unthinkingly dumped upon the surrounding pattern as in the OrientalRug illustration, but neither does it seem (to me) to be organically developed from the ‘background’ design.
The Sobhe Test remains an interesting theory, to be checked against future occurences of the much-abused Habibian signature.
[1] Davari is mentioned as an Isfahan ustad (masterweaver) together with Dardashti on an interesting German ustad listing at akorug:
Hofmanufakturen und Meisterknüpfer, wie Habibian, Drakhshesh, Mohamadi aus Nain, Hadji Djalili aus Täbris, Mohtasham aus Keshan, Amogli aus Mashad, Serafian, Davari, Dardashdi aus Isfahan und Mirmehdi, Kohlar, Nouri, Kamal aus Ghoum, sie alle haben Kunstwerke geschaffen, die ein Menschenleben überdauern. Ihre Namen stehen geleichbedeutend mit den Namen berühmter Maler wie Rembrandt, Michelangelo oder Van Gogh. Kunstwerke dieser Meisterknüpfer finden Sie in unserer