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The history of Persian Carpet-a culmination
of artistic magnificence - dates back to 2,500 years
ago. The Iranians were among the pioneer carpet weavers
of the ancient civilizations, having achieved a superlative
degree of perfection through centuries of creativity
and ingenuity. The skill of carpet weaving has been
handed down by fathers to their sons, who built upon
those skills and in turn handed them down to their offspring
as a closely guarded family secret. To trace the history
of Persian carpet is to follow a path of cultural growth
of one of the greatest civilizations the world has ever
known.
From being simple articles of need,
floor and entrance coverings to protect the nomadic
tribesmen from the cold and damp, the increasing beauty
of the carpets found them new owners – kings and noblemen,
who looked upon them as signs of wealth, prestige and
distinction.
A Russian professor, Rudenko, discovered
the earliest existing Persian carpet in 1949 during
the excavations of burial mounds in the Altai Mountains
in Siberia. Dating back to the fifth century B.C., it
is now kept in the Hermitage Museum of Leningrad.
Another rug found in the same area, dates back to the
first century BC. However, historical records show that
magnificent carpets adorned the court of Cyrus the Great,
who founded the Persian Empire over 2,500 years ago.
A great period in the history of
Persian carpets came during the Sassanian dynasty, from
the third to the seventh century AD. By the 6th
century, Persian carpets had won a worldwide fame and
were being exported to distant lands. After the fall
of the Sassanian dynasty, from the seventh to the twelfth
centuries, Persian carpet weaving became a rather spasmodic
industry in many parts of the country. After the invasion
of the Moguls in the 13th century and for
the next two centuries, under the devastation wrecked
by the Moguls, the artistic life of the country, including
carpet weaving, declined. But Tamerlane, the Mogul conqueror,
spared artisans from his bloody havoc and under his
successor, Shah Rokh, who put great emphasis on Persian
carpets, the art began to flourish once again. Outstanding
specimens started appearing from the court subsidized
looms.
The Persian carpet reached its zenith
during the reign of the Safavid dynasty in the 16th
century. When Shah Ismail ascended the throne in 1499,
he began laying the foundation for what was to become
a national industry that was the envy of the neighboring
countries. The most famous of the kings of this era,
Shah Abbas, more than transformed the industry by establishing
a royal carpet factory in Esfahan, his capital. Artisans
were hired to prepare designs to be made by master craftsmen.
Two of the best know carpets of the period; dated 1539
come from the mosque of Ardebil. Many experts
believe that these carpets represent the culmination
of achievement in carpet design. The larger of the two
carpets in now kept in London’s Victoria and Albert
Museum while the other is displayed at the Los Angeles
Country Museum. Rugs of distinctive beauty were also
woven in Kashan, Kerman, Yazd, Fars and Khuzestan. The
art of utilizing gold and silver thread in carpet weaving
was also developed during this period. A magnificent
example of such carpet is the great coronation carpet
now held in the Rosenburg Castle in Copenhagen. The
growing demand for gold and silver threaded carpets
turned it into a major export industry of the country.
Since many a centuries the Persian
carpet has received international acclaim for its distinctive
and spectacular artistic accomplishment. In palaces,
famous buildings, mansions and museums the world over,
a Persian carpet is amongst the most treasured possession
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