SAFAVID IRAN OR POSSIBLY MUGHAL INDIA, LATE 16TH OR EARLY 17TH CENTURY

A number of fragments of this remarkable textile are known, particularly in the posession of American Museums. Examples are in the Textile Museum, Washington (C. Bier: Woven from the Soul, Spun from the Heart, Washington D.C., 1987, no.57, p.242 and 243), the Detroit Msueum of Art (A. Welch: Shah 'Abbas & the Arts of Isfahan, New York, 1973-4, no.19, p.67, ill.pp.38-39, and endpapers), in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The inclusion of Europeans in their boats is also seen on a group of carpets which have been variously attributed to 17th century Iran and India (C. G. Ellis: "The Portuguese Carpets of Gujerat", Islamic Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1972, pp.272 sqq.)