Description of Design and History:
This excellent example has its stylistic roots in the Safavid period and looks very much like a textile of the time. It is in fact a carpet with four corner pieces and a hunting scene on the main field. It is executed to a remarkably fine quality. The fields about its four main axes have finely drawn figures on animals hunting on their prey. The extremely artistic central medallion shows the rays of the sun, encircled by hunting animals catching their prey and encircled around these animals are beautiful pairs of green coloured parrots. The four corners have the spirit of hunting design from the Safavid period, they are decorated beautifully with 2 pairs of phoenix (symbol of good luck), followed by a pair of lions hunting their prey down. An excellent medallion mixing pastel dark blue and soft brown and cream with the inevitable dark indigo blue, with ornamental pendant lamp motifs extending vertically, is undoubtedly a simplified, updated version of the vast Ardabil medallion construction. The unique border of this carpet, has four bouquets of different kind of flowers like the tulip, rose, lily, etc, framed in separate rows and decorated in Mehrabi design. This exclusive pattern is very unusual from any other carpet. The four outer corners of the main border are decorated with a pair of colourful parrots, followed by a pair of lovely peacocks. The inner mirror border which is decorated with mill-flowers is completely different from the outer mirror border, which is decorated with tulips all around. The edges of this carpet have various Iranian poems from Sadee weaved on them. The design of the carpet is similarly comparable to Safavid rug in different museums.