Unknown (Persian)
Ardabil Carpet
1539
The 'Ardabil Carpet' is one of a famous pair woven in 1539–1540 in Safavid Iran and installed at the shrine of Shaykh Safi al-Din in Ardabil. Measuring roughly 10.5 × 5.3 metres and knotted from silk and wool at a density of some 340 knots per square inch, it is one of the largest and best-preserved of all early Islamic carpets. The composition centres on a great star medallion framed by cartouches containing mosque-lamp motifs and surrounded by a dense field of floral arabesque. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has exhibited its Ardabil since 1893; the pair carpet is held by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
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Image source: Wikimedia Commons