IRAN, LATE 16TH OR EARLY 17TH CENTURY

The artistic production of Iran flourished under Shah ‘Abbas I and the production of textiles was no exception. Luxurious silks and velvets were produced in workshops in Yazd, Kashan and Isfahan, and production reached a peak in the mid-seventeenth century. Persian velvets were manufactured either as a continuous pile resulting in a fine cloth, or woven selectively with areas of pile and “voided” areas of flat weave which could then be elaborated with metal-thread. As well as proving popular in Iran, Safavid velvets were highly sought after abroad and some of the first fabrics to be sold on the international market (Nazanin Hedayat Munroe, “Silk Textiles from Safavid Iran, 1501-1722”, Metropolitan Museum of Art website, May 2012, https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/safa_3/hd_safa_3.htm, accessed 2 September 2023). The large size of the flower group on this textile is something that would have been technically difficult and time-consuming to achieve.

A Safavid floral velvet panel with a similar cream ground and palette, albeit with a more irregular design, was sold in these Rooms, 23 October 2007, lot 176.