A palatial Ziegler Sultanabad carpet
28ft 6in x 17ft 4in : 855cm x 515cm
Provenance: William Ewart Gladstone,
Hawarden Castle, Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales.
Hawarden Castle, a designated Grade I listed building, was the home of the former four times Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898) who had come into possession of Hawarden Castle in north Wales, through his wife's family, the Glynns, when her brother, Sir Stephen Glynne, the 8th Baronet died childless.
The present carpet, of palatial size, is a product of how with imported goods come also their designs which influence styles in Europe at the time, both Zieglers’ and William Morris carpets were a reaction against the industrial three dimensional products, reverting back to honest workmanship, materials and flat two dimensional designs, in essence Pre-Raphalite.
Morris stated regarding the Ardabil carpet (V & A)...its size and splendour as a piece of workmanship do full justice to the beauty and intellectual qualities of the design.... this can be applied to the present carpet having enlarged palmettes, sickle leaves and connecting stems, resting upon a rare deep coral background, also of note is the exceptionally beautiful border.
