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Carpet

second half 16th century
Not on view
The scenes depicted on this carpet may allude to the bazm, or the feast that followed the battle in Iranian history and literature. In the central medallion, a group of beardless seated men are drinking, talking, and playing music, while four standing figures hold goats, perhaps in anticipation of the banquet. The vignettes of predators attacking or stalking prey signify ideas of dominance, thus relating to the razm, or battle. The figures’ turbans, with their low kulahs, or caps, indicate that the carpet was produced after the early Safavid taj, or cap with a high baton-like extension, had fallen out of fashion.

Carpets from this period were usually woven in pairs, and The Met has a possible companion for this piece. Thirty-seven patches and adhesive were removed from the reverse and replaced with underlay support fabric

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Carpet
  • Date: second half 16th century
  • Geography: Made in Iran
  • Medium: Silk (warp), cotton (weft), wool (pile); asymmetrically knotted pile
  • Dimensions: Rug: H. 99 3/4 in. (253.4 cm)
    W. 70 in. (177.8 cm)
    W. of top edge: 68 5/8 in. (174.3 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles-Rugs
  • Credit Line: Mr. and Mrs. Isaac D. Fletcher Collection, Bequest of Isaac D. Fletcher, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.120.127
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
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The Emperor's Carpet, Silk (warp and weft), wool (pile); asymmetrically knotted pile
The Emperor's Carpet
second half 16th century
The Anhalt Medallion Carpet, Cotton (warp), silk (weft), wool (pile); asymmetrically knotted pile
The Anhalt Medallion Carpet
probably first half 16th century
The 'Nigde' Carpet, Cotton (warp and weft), wool (pile); symmetrically knotted pile
The 'Nigde' Carpet
18th century
Carpet with Palm Trees, Ibexes, and Birds, Cotton (warp and weft), wool (pile); asymmetrically knotted pile
Carpet with Palm Trees, Ibexes, and Birds
late 16th–early 17th century
Vase-technique Carpet with Overlapping Cartouches, Cotton (warp), silk (weft), wool (weft and pile); asymmetrically knotted pile
Vase-technique Carpet with Overlapping Cartouches
17th century

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