CENTRAL PERSIA, 17TH CENTURY

Red ground carpets with scrolling arabesques terminating in palmettes framed by an indigo or deep green border of similar palmettes are the most familiar group of 17th century Persian carpets that have survived to the present day. Variously ascribed to Herat or Mughal India or referred to as 'Indo-Isfahan' in the past, it is generally accepted today that Isfahan was the production center for these carpets. Evidence from European inventories and depictions in paintings indicates that they were first woven in the late 16th century, becoming very prevalent in the course of the 17th century when they were extremely popular with the nobility and upper class in Europe.