The light blue ground with a red-outlined cartouche containing radiating flowerheads interlaced with tendrils issuing further flowerheads, glazed and framed,

Provenance: Jack Franses, London, (1928-2011); Private collection, Sussex, circa 1980s-2023

Jack Franses was formerly a Sotheby's textiles specialist, a senior director for the Middle East and India, and in 1981 became head of the newly created Islamic Art department. His greatest asset was his perfect recall of almost every rug or textile he had ever seen. Both at Sotheby's and as a dealer, he advised numerous collectors and museums and royalty such as King Hussein of Jordan, Umberto II of Italy and Fahd of Saudi Arabia.  

This beautifully coloured and drawn fragment is found on a larger Mughal velvet panel which was exhibited in Munich in 1910 (F. Sarre and F. R. Martin, Meisterwerke Muhammedanischer Kunst, exhibition catalogue, Munich, 1910, pl.205). Loaned by Mr Schutz in Paris it was attributed to 18th century Persia (Yezd). Another large panel of the same textile is in the Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon (L'Art Islamique dans la collection Calouste Gulbenkian, exhibition catalogue, Argel, Algeria, 2007, cover ilustration; also Arte do Oriente Islamico, Colecçao da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, 1963, no.82).