A rare East Caucasian saph, Shirvan or Kuba, circa 1868

Please note the flatweave and outermost edges of the end guards have been restored at both ends and it has been suggested there could originally have been one or more additional niches at either end.

The previously oldest known dated Caucasian saph is the much published piece once in the collection of Frank Michaelian, sold in the Vojtech Blau sale, Replica Shoes ’s New York, December 14, 2006, lot 74, for $39,000, which is dated AH 1292 (1875 CE) and previously exhibited at the Textile Museum in 1974, the Montclair Art Museum in New Jersey in 1975, the Barry Replica Handbags s Pavilion in 1984, and the L.A. Mayer Institute in Jerusalem in 1986 and published in Ettinghausen et al., Prayer Rugs, pl.30; Hasson, Rachel,  Caucasian Rugs, catalogue from the L.A. Mayer Institute in Jerusalem, 1986, pl.25; and Grogan, M., Town and Tribal Carpets, Newton Massachusetts 1984, pl.1.  Other known examples, most usually with five niches, are dated to the late 19th or early 20th century; a list of these is given in Hali 148, Auction Price Guide, p.113 and see also Hali 117, July-August 2001 p. 115. The present lot is not only a rare example both for its early date and for its format, with it's six niches, but it also offers a joyful patchwork sampler of period Caucasian field and border designs.