Royal Carpet with Silk and Metal Thread

Royal Carpet with Silk and Metal Thread

Unknown artist

The Safavid dynasty was the greatest dynasty from Iran in the Islamic period. Similarly, woven textiles and carpets from this period are some of the best produced in the region. Royal workshops produced luxurious textiles, like this one, to furnish the royal court. Expertly woven silks were highly prized by the Iranian elite but were also produced for export to the European aristocracy.

Details

Dimensions
overall: height 2.362 m, width 1.435 m
Department
Textiles
Holding institution
Cleveland Museum of Art
Image provider
cleveland-museum-of-art
License
CC0-1.0
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Art Genome Taxonomy

11 tags

Visual Qualities

  • Symmetrical Visual · 98%

    The central field and major floral units are arranged around a strong vertical axis, with closely corresponding motifs on the left and right.

  • Patterns Visual · 99%

    Repeated floral, foliate, scrolling, and small border motifs cover the field and surrounding ornamental bands.

  • Highly Ornamented Visual · 98%

    The carpet is extensively filled with layered floral and vegetal ornament, leaving little unpatterned ground.

  • Dense Composition Visual · 97%

    Motifs are closely distributed across the central field and borders, producing a visually full, compact composition.

  • Curvilinear Forms Visual · 95%

    Curling stems, leaves, tendrils, lobed forms, and rounded blossoms dominate the visible ornament.

Time Periods

  • 17th Century Art Metadata · 99%

    The museum date range of 1600–1625 places the work in the seventeenth century.

Geographic Regions

  • Iranian Art Metadata · 99%

    The recorded place of origin is Isfahan, Iran, and the object is identified as Safavid-period work.

Materials

  • Natural Fibers Metadata · 98%

    The museum records cotton and silk fibers in the warp, wefts, and pile; the textile structure is also visibly fibrous and woven in the image.

  • Metal Metadata · 98%

    The museum specifies gilt- and silver-metal thread brocaded into the textile.

Cultural and Religious Styles

  • The museum describes Safavid Iran in relation to the Islamic period. This is a contextual catalog tag rather than a conclusion drawn from the image alone.

Textiles

  • Rug Both · 99%

    The museum classifies the object as a carpet, and the image clearly shows a vertically oriented patterned floor textile with borders and a long lower fringe.

Source & rights

Unknown artist. Royal Carpet with Silk and Metal Thread. Cleveland Museum of Art.