The niche carpet is woven with a millefleur pattern of hundreds of tiny flowers. It was a style that became popular relatively late in the history of Mughal carpets. Its design reflects the influence of European tapestries, which had employed the millefleur design since the Middle Ages. A famous example of this kind of tapestry is at the Cloisters: The Unicorn in Captivity.

As a classroom activity, ask students to study the two images--the Mughal rug with the millefleur design and The Unicorn in Captivity with its millefleur background. Using a Venn Diagram or another method of comparing and contrasting elements, see how many commonalities and differences the students can identify.

The following information will be useful when looking at the two images.

The Unicorn in Captivity from The Unicorn Tapestries:
The Cloisters Collection, Gift of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., 1937 (37.80.6)

where: Southern Netherlandish (Brussels)
when: 1475-1500
technique: woven, tapestry technique
materials: wool, silk, metallic threads
size: 12' x 8' 3''
use: hung on wall; may have been commissioned to celebrate a marriage
design: millefleur; flowers are depicted realistically, flower motifs are arranged randomly
symbolism: Christian symbolism in hunt of the unicorn flowers associated with love and fertility
influences: the flowers represented may have been influenced by European herbals or scientific books of plants

where: Northern India, Kashmir
when: second half of the 18th century
technique: woven, pile technique
materials: cotton, pashmina (cashmere)
size: 6' 2 1/4'' x 4'
use: may have been hung on a wall
design: millefleur; flowers are depicted abstractly; flowers motifs are rigidly and bilaterally symmetrical
symbolism: Islamic symbolism of niche representing Gateway to Paradise; flowers associated with symbolism of Paradise as a garden
influences: tapestries brought to the court by European merchants

Additional activities to do at home or in the classroom:

Off-loom activities:

• Draw a fantastic beast or an animal made up of parts of different animals. Write a story about it. What does it eat? Where does it live? What kind of sound does it make?
• Design a carpet to represent a garden or an animal park. Outline a border on a sheet of paper and draw some of your favorite animals in the center part of the paper. Add rows of plants, trees, or flowers to fill in the space around the animals. In the border, use repeating geometrical shapes to create a pattern.
• Design a symmetrical carpet:
  • Fold a piece of 8-1/2'' x 11'' paper in fourths, or quadrants.
  • In one of the quadrants, draw a floral or geometric design and outline it with heavy black crayon.
  • Fold the paper in half, either lengthwise or crosswise, with the crayoned area inside.
  • Rub the back of the crayoned area to transfer the lines to another quadrant.
  • Open the paper and trace over the transferred lines with black crayon.
  • Fold the paper again, and transfer the design to the third and fourth quadrants.
  • Open the paper and trace over all the transferred lines with black crayon.
  • Now fill in the spaces with colored crayons or paint.
  • Chart a simple design on 1/4'' graph paper. If this were the size of an actual rug, it would have 16 knots per square inch (4 knots across x 4 knots down = 16). Try charting the same design on 1/8'' graph paper. (8 knots across x 8 knots down = 64 knots per square inch)
    • If you were weaving a rug, which design would you prefer to weave?
    • Which design would take longer to weave?

• Make a simple loom from cardboard.
• Weave a coaster or mug rug, using a plain tapestry weave. Vary the basic weave:
  • Weave a symmetrical or radial design.
  • Incorporate a personal symbol or image into the design.
• Use pile techniques or a combination of techniques.
  • Alternate rows of knots with plain weave to make a pile weave.
  • Use both tapestry and knot techniques to weave a composite animal.
• Use different kinds of yarn--wool, mohair, and cotton--and compare the effects.

  More Activities