Medallion carpet
Gallery
This type of carpet, with its narrow, elongated shape, has been associated with an imperial workshop in Tabriz, the first Safavid capital, although there is no evidence that they were actually produced there.
It has an aqua green field, which is quite rare, with a large central medallion in the shape of a sixteen-pointed star, filled with floral motifs and small birds.
Its decoration is akin to book art, where this type of motif appeared, for example, in bindings, long before its use in carpet decoration. It is thought that book artists often supplied the carpet designs to the master weavers.
This carpet is perhaps one of the oldest specimens in the collection and belonged to the Austrian imperial collection. It was acquired by Calouste Gulbenkian in The Hague, in 1935.
Object details
- Title
- Medallion carpet
- Origin
- Tabriz (?)
- Date
- Safavid period, late 15th - first half of the 16th century
- Technique
- Knot carpet
- Materials
- Wool\Wool pile; Cotton\Cotton warp; Cotton\Cotton weft
- Dimensions
- Length 530,00 cm; Width 222,00 cm
- Inventory no.
- T97
Provenance
Incorporation
- Type
- Purchased
- Place
- Hague
- Date
- 9 Mar 1935