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Rug
Hunting carpet
Rug
Probably designed by: Aqa Mirak and Sultan Muhammad (Persian)
For: Shah Tahmasp (Persian, ruled 1524–1576)
For: Shah Tahmasp (Persian, ruled 1524–1576)
Iranian
Safavid Dynasty
about 1530
Object Place: Iran
Medium/Technique
Silk warp and weft with silk knotted pile, with supplementary metal-wrapped patterning wefts
Dimensions
480.1 x 225 cm (189 x 88 9/16 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds from the Centennial Purchase Fund, John Goelet, and unrestricted textile purchase funds
Accession Number66.293
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Fashion and Textiles
ClassificationsTextiles
DescriptionScenes of hunting and feasting on this carpet reflect the pastimes of the Safavid court. The size of the carpet, the use of the silk throughout, and the exquisite workmanship (up to 810 knots per square inch) suggest that it was made for Shah Tahmasp (r. 1524–1576). Its rich pictorial patterns are thought to have been designed by the leading painters at the Safavid court.
In the central medallion, highlighted with metallic threads, is a combat between dragons and phoenixes, a motif which reflects Chinese influence on Persian art. Within the blossoming vines of the surrounding field, novice hunters attack rabbits with clubs while more skilled hunters kill deer and antelope with spears and swords or battle lions barehanded.
The relaxed atmosphere of the border design contrasts with the violent activity of the carpet's center. Richly dressed courtiers eat and drink and, as described in Persian poetry, discuss the day's hunting adventures.
In the central medallion, highlighted with metallic threads, is a combat between dragons and phoenixes, a motif which reflects Chinese influence on Persian art. Within the blossoming vines of the surrounding field, novice hunters attack rabbits with clubs while more skilled hunters kill deer and antelope with spears and swords or battle lions barehanded.
The relaxed atmosphere of the border design contrasts with the violent activity of the carpet's center. Richly dressed courtiers eat and drink and, as described in Persian poetry, discuss the day's hunting adventures.
Provenance19th century, Torrigiani family, Florence; 1870s, sold by the Marchese Torrigiani to Stefano Bardini (b. 1836 - d. 1922), Florence [see note 1]; between 1877 and 1892, sold by Bardini to Adolphe de Rothschild (b. 1823 - d. 1900), Paris; by inheritance to his grand-nephew, Maurice de Rothschild (b. 1881 - d. 1957), Geneva. Between 1957 and 1966 acquired, probably from the Rothschild family, by Rosenberg and Stiebel, New York; 1966, sold by Rosenberg and Stiebel to the MFA. (Accession Date: May 13, 1966)
NOTES:
[1] Bardini offered the carpet to Wilhelm von Bode as early as 1877; this information was first provided to the MFA by Thomas J. Farnham, and the letter has been published by Valerie Niemeyer Chini, Stefano Bardini e Wilhelm Bode (Florence, 2009), p. 222, letter XV.11 (June 27, 1877); also see pp. 97-98. The carpet was in the Rothschild collection by 1892; see Wilhlem von Bode, Altpersische Knüpfteppiche (Berlin, 1892), p. 13. Bode later published Vorderasiatische Knüpfteppiche aus alter Zeit (Leipzig, 1902), noting (on p. 10) that about 25 years earlier, the Marchese Torrigiani had sold the carpet to Bardini for 150 francs, and that Bardini subsequently sold it to Rothschild for 30,000 francs.
NOTES:
[1] Bardini offered the carpet to Wilhelm von Bode as early as 1877; this information was first provided to the MFA by Thomas J. Farnham, and the letter has been published by Valerie Niemeyer Chini, Stefano Bardini e Wilhelm Bode (Florence, 2009), p. 222, letter XV.11 (June 27, 1877); also see pp. 97-98. The carpet was in the Rothschild collection by 1892; see Wilhlem von Bode, Altpersische Knüpfteppiche (Berlin, 1892), p. 13. Bode later published Vorderasiatische Knüpfteppiche aus alter Zeit (Leipzig, 1902), noting (on p. 10) that about 25 years earlier, the Marchese Torrigiani had sold the carpet to Bardini for 150 francs, and that Bardini subsequently sold it to Rothschild for 30,000 francs.