The Emperor's Carpet

Unknown

second half 16th century · Silk (warp and weft), wool (pile); asymmetrically knotted pile · Islamic Art

One of the finest products of the Safavid court ateliers, this carpet once adorned the summer residence of the Habsburg emperors. The main field balances a sophisticated net of floral scrolls, large composite palmettes, cloud bands, buds, and blossoms with a myriad of real and fictional animals—dragons and Chinese antelope, lion and buffalo, tigers and leopards, ducks and pheasants. A verse found in the inner guard band likens a garden in springtime to the Garden of Paradise.

Artist

Unknown

Date

second half 16th century

Medium

Silk (warp and weft), wool (pile); asymmetrically knotted pile

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1943