Carpet Museum of Iran is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a special collection of Safavid carpets. The exhibition will be ended on March 16, 2018.
One of the greatest periods in Persian art history was attained under ruling of the Safavid dynasty (1501-1722).
Persian carpets also had an undeniable role in revolution of Persian art during Safavid era that is paraded below obviously.
Safavid carpets were result of a unique conjunction of historical factors - royal patronage, the influence of court designers at all levels of artistic production, the wide availability of locally produced and imported materials and dyes and commercial acceptance, particularly in foreign markets.
Polonaise carpets or Polish carpets, are a considerable part of the Safavid relics that are shown during the mentioned exhibition.
Polonaise carpets are made with silk and metal threads of gold and silver coating in Isfahan and other weaving centers of Persia in the late 16th and 17th centuries at first for court use and then commercially. Weaving production process of these masterpieces started in order of Sigismund III of Poland to some Armenian traders in 1601-1602.
Some Polonaise carpets were even custom made with the heraldic devices of specific Polish noble families. All this led to the erroneous opinion that these carpets were actually made in Poland, which is nowadays discredited.
The soft golden coloration of the antique Polonaise rugs and carpets, supremely delicate drawing and additional detail in gold and silver make the Polonaise rug a masterpiece of bygone grandeur that is still usable as a decorative carpet today.
Some of other exhibited Safavid masterpieces that has been woven in Kashan, Isfahan, Tabriz, Kerman, Herat:
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