[Carpets] were traded to Europe and the Far East where, too precious to be placed on the ground, they were used to cover furniture or hung on walls. Within the Islamic world, especially fine specimens were collected in royal households.

Courtney Stewart, senior research assistant in the Department of Islamic Art, takes a closer look at the medallions in the 16th–17th century Persian rugs currently on display in the exhibition Carpets for Kings: Six Masterpieces of Iranian Weaving.

From biblical times onward, the concept of having an expensive textile underfoot has been associated with wealth, power, and sanctity.

Florica Zaharia, Conservator in Charge of the Department of Textile Conservation, outlines how the textile conservators treated and prepared tapestries and carpets for the new Islamic galleries.

The engaging and accessible volume offers invaluable insights and novel perspectives on what is perhaps the most iconic of all Islamic art forms: the handwoven carpet. With a history stretching back to the fourteenth century and a geographic reach spanning Europe to Eurasia, Mongolia to the Middle East, Islamic carpets boast a degree of innovation and technical skill to rival the world's most exalted works of art. Beauty and brilliance emerge in equal measure from carpets of all forms be they colossal silk rugs exchanged as gifts by sultans and kings or small and sturdy textiles woven for use in nomadic encampments. Some sixty superlative examples from the Metropolitan Museum's collection—from Persia, India, Turkey, North Africa, and across the Islamic world—are presented here in lavish detail, with concise and approachable texts that position each work in historical and cultural context. Beginning with a discussion of materials and techniques, How to Read Islamic Carpets offers a comprehensive introduction to this captivating art form, and reveals the lasting influence of carpet-weaving traditions in lands far beyond the Islamic world.

Curator Sheila Canby explores the imagery of eternal springtime in a grand seventeenth-century Persian garden carpet on loan from the Burrell Collection.

Azerbaijani carpets have become an important component of world culture and art, and enjoy popularity on a global scale.