Important and extraordinary HÉRIZ "Wak-Wak" entirely... Lot 108
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Important and extraordinary HÉRIZ "Wak-Wak" entirely woven of silk, work executed around 1870.
Dimensions : 378 x 270cm.
Technical characteristics : wool velvet on wool foundation.
A rectangular ruby field hosts an amazing decoration called "WAK-WAK".
A tree of life, symbolizing the link between the earth (temporal world) and the sky (timeless world, mysteries and myths) spreads a vigorous branch where a multitude of flowering stems are born, all more exuberant and colorful than the others, while its roots are firmly rooted in the ground, drawing their strength from the mother earth. The base of the tree shows a face with blue eyes, symbols of divinatory power, this ancient inspiration would come from the legend of Alexander the Great, who, at the threshold of his conquest of the East would have asked a sylvan oracle for predictions about his future as a conqueror.
If the first half of the lower field amazes us by its vegetal decoration, decorated with two birds, the upper part (the foliage of the tree) is breathtaking allegorical and extraordinary symbolic; not to mention the graphics, undoubtedly, let's not be afraid to advance it, unique in the world! An ivory-colored canopy, with delicate pastel flowers, serves as a support for a scene where real animals, mythological animals and evil beings recreate a fantastic ecosystem.
Indeed, still in the middle of heavenly flowers and small animals, two birds, exemplary parents, bring gastropods as food for their brood of five chicks. The brood represents the five elements, symbol of life, and the dedication of the parents is the allegory of good. The two sheep at the base of the nest can be interpreted as innocence, while death is always present, in the form of two bovid skulls.
Evil is represented by a diabolical being, with a monstrous head and a snake-like tail, who tries to take possession of the good, and by an animal, looking like a dragon, who pushes his offspring (literally and figuratively) to pervert the world of light to draw them into the world of darkness. The forces of Evil try to defeat the forces of Good by uttering "yelps", in Persian "WAK-WAK", hence the name of this setting.
The origin of this subject, of philosophical, legendary and historical inspirations is the perfect symbol of the syncretism of the Persian, Indian and Hellenistic influences, did not Alexander arrive to the banks of the Indus.
Of course the quality of this carpet made entirely of natural silk (warps, wefts and velvet) is quite exceptional. The density of this "silk tile" is
1,500,000 knots per m2.
A similar but much smaller example (about 5m2) was sold at Dorothum in 2016 for the sum of nearly €52,000 (including fees), our example here is 10.2m2 and has a higher knot density.
Museum piece.
Bibliography:
- Oriental Carpet by Jon THOMPSON page 24
- The Carpet by Enza MILANESI page 27
- Antike orientalische knüpfkunst 1976 by P. BAUSBACK page143
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