Animal combat groups are a prevalent feature of Safavid carpets, occurring frequently among carpets from Tabriz, as here, in conjuction with cypress trees. Examples of this can be seen in the superbly drawn Hatvani fragment (Pope, A.U.: A Survey of Persian Art, Oxford, 1938, pl.1141) and in the Schwartzenburg medallion carpet (Pope: op.cit., pl.1203). The drawing on the present fragment is far more angular than that in the two carpets mentioned above; this is however a feature of a number of the non-figural early 16th century medallion carpets. The drawing of the pomegranite tree with its perching bird in the lower portion of the fragment, together with the border seen in the upper, both support a 16th century attribution.