Description

Contemporary Persian Tabriz rug of superb quality: with the pile made of wool, the warp of silk and the weft of cotton, this is an extremely fine rug. It is a direct descendant of Safavid carpets, notably the “Vine Scroll” carpets produced during the reign of Shah Abbas I (1587 – 1629) with their designs of scrolling vines, palmettes and leaf patterns on a red ground, and the  “in-and-out-palmette” designs of the main border on a dark ground, in this case a dark blue. A very similar carpet from that era, and an ancestor to our rug,   is in the Museo Nacional de Machado de Castro, Coimbra. See Thompson, Jon et al (eds), Carpets and Textiles of the Iranian World 1400 – 1700. Proceedings of the Conference Held at the Ashmolean Museum on 30 – 31 August 2003. Oxford, May Beattie Archive  at the Ashmolean Museum, 2010, Fig. 7, p. 105.

http://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/collection/6/1277/6239

Copies of classical carpets very often miss the point, but in this case, the integrity of the original has been absolutely maintained, and one can see that in a hundred years’ time this little rug will be even more beautiful than it is now. The weaver who made this comes from the same part of Iran as the unknown weavers of the 17th century versions. An inherent understanding of the medium seems to have passed down through the generations. This extends to the quality of the materials used, including the dyes which are all natural.

This rug is a real jewel.

£5,500