CENTRAL PERSIA, EARLY 17TH CENTURY

With a third of this carpet in completely full, original pile, we are able to appreciate and comprehend the brilliance of Isfahan carpets as they were, when first woven in the 17th century. The richness of colour and the delicate forms of the foliate decoration woven on such a grand scale are impressive. The border is a highly sophisticated pattern formed of paired reciprocal rose and pale blue split-palmettes with speckled centers, alternating with two varieties of palmettes. The delicate execution and arrangement of this border design is comparable to the silk and metal-thread 'Polonaise' carpet of Prince Johann II of Liechtenstein (F. R. Martin, A History of Oriental Carpets Before 1800, Vienna, 1908, p.64, fig.153) and another very similar border is found on a multiple medallion carpet from the same period, illustrated by Arthur Upham Pope (A.U. Pope, A Survey of Persian Art, London, Vol. XII, pl. 1179).