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Rug
Polonaise carpet
Rug
Persian
Safavid Dynasty
probably early 17th century
Object Place: Isfahan or Kashan, Iran (Persia)
Medium/Technique
Cotton warp, cotton weft, silk pile, silver- and gilt-silver-wrapped silk brocading
Dimensions
204.0 x 139 cm (80 5/16 x 54 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Denman Waldo Ross Collection
Accession Number17.603
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Fashion and Textiles
ClassificationsTextiles
DescriptionMade in the carpet workshops of Shah Abbas I (ruled 1588 - 1629) and his successors, sumptuous silk -and-metal rugs like this one were used at court, donated to religious buildings, or sent off to European royalty. Nineteenth -century writers, confused by the heraldic designs woven into some of these carpets, misattributed the group to Poland, and the name Polonaise has persisted.
Of the eighty-two carpets or carpet fragments that Denman Waldo Ross gave the MFA, this Polonaise was the most expensive; Ross paid Paris and New York-based antiquarian dealer Dikran Kelekian $7,500 for it about 1907.
Thirty-six Persian (Sehna) knots to a square centimeter. The ground is of salmon pink; on this is a design of conventional flowers in bright green, bright yellows, blues, reds, white, gold, and silver. The ground of the main border is bright green.
Of the eighty-two carpets or carpet fragments that Denman Waldo Ross gave the MFA, this Polonaise was the most expensive; Ross paid Paris and New York-based antiquarian dealer Dikran Kelekian $7,500 for it about 1907.
Thirty-six Persian (Sehna) knots to a square centimeter. The ground is of salmon pink; on this is a design of conventional flowers in bright green, bright yellows, blues, reds, white, gold, and silver. The ground of the main border is bright green.