Carpet fragment, wool knotted pile with metal brocade on silk foundation, medallion design with angels and animals on dark blue ground, Safavid Iran, 1525-1550

Carpet fragment, probably half of the original; hand-knotted woollen pile on silk warp and weft; Persian, 16th century.
Warp: white silk, Z2S, 44 threads per inch/176 per dm; depressed.
Weft: white silk; unable to ascertain spin, ply and twist; 3 shoots after each row of knots; 22 threads per inch/88 per dm. There are brocaded metal strips: one loosely wound around a white silk core, and one loosely wound around a yellow silk core; both are brocaded over groups of three warp threads.
Pile: wool; 14 colours: dark red, red, dark yellow, yellow, green, light green, light blue, blue, dark blue, dark pink, pink, light brown, black, white. Asymmetrical knot tied aorund two warp threads and open to the left; 484 knots per sq. inch/ 7744 per sq.dm
Side and End Finishes: not original; one cord oversewn with faded purple wool.
Design: Dark blue ground with almost half a lobed medallion trunctated by the cut across the width of the carpet. The medallion has a brocaded groundwith green interlocking cloud bands, edged in black, green arabesques outlined in red overlaying a thin red arabesque; all with small floral motifs and the whole outlined with a dark red serrated edging outlined in green with little white buds marking the lobes. Below this is a white cartouche and pendant, to ither side of which is a large ovoid mostly contianing a large chi-lin on a pink ground.In the lower large quarter medallion of green outlined with brocaded details, there is an angel dressed in pink. On the dark blue field there is athin light blue arabesque carrying a variety of blossoms and leaves on top of which are wolves, braoced lions and grazelles being attacked by cheetahs.
Main border: missing. Only one inner border remains along the lower edge; it has a dark red ground with a thin white meander containing small light blue and brocaded flowerheads and joining white blossoms bracketed by a pair of orange leaves.
Date catalogued: 26/01/2000

The left hand side is a mirror image of the right hand side, so the designer had to draw only part of the complete pattern; a draughtsman would have completed it and the weavers would have worked from his detailed drawing.

Given by Charles T. Garland

Gift of Charles T. Garland, from the collection of his late father James A. Garland.

Displayed in the Exhibition of Persian Art, London, 7 January – 7 March 1931.

Possibly Qazvin or Tabriz.

The design of this carpet is composed mainly of motifs characteristic of carpets made in Iran during the rule of the Safavid dynasty (1501-1722). From about 1500 designers in Iran developed a style that depicted figures and symmetrical floral scrollwork designs set with fantastic blossoms, as shown here. The wolves at the top, however, are unusual.

T.77-1919