Ardabil Carpet

Ardabil Carpet
General information
Name	Ardabil Carpet
Original name	فرش اردبیل
Alternative name(s)	Shaykh Safi Carpet
Origin	Iran
Date	1539-1540
Period	Safavid
Artist/Maker	Maqsud Kashani
Name Museum	Victoria Albert Museum
Acquire Date	March 1893
Gallery location	Islamic Middle East, Room 42, The Jameel Gallery, case 21
Technical information
Common designs	Medallion with 16 satellite ovals, Lamps
Common motifs & patterns	Blossom, Rosettes, Floral Meander
Dimensions	529.5×1032.5
Common colors	Dark Red, Red, Light Red, Yellow, Green, Dark Blue, Blue, Light Blue, Black, White
Dyeing method	Natural
Foundation material	Silk
Knot type	Asymmetrical (Persian)
Knot density	5300 Knots per sq. dm (340 per sq. in)

The Ardabil carpet is one of the largest Islamic carpets in existence. It is also of great historical importance. It was commissioned as one of a pair by the ruler of Iran, Shah Tahmasp, for the shrine of his ancestor, Shaykh Safi al-Din, in the town of Ardabil in north-west Iran.
In a small panel at one end, the date of completion is given as the year 946 in the Muslim calendar, equivalent to 1539-40. The text includes the name of the man in charge of its production, Maqsud Kashani.
The carpet is remarkable for the beauty of its design and execution. It has a white silk warp and weft and the pile is knotted in wool in ten colours. The single huge composition that covers most of its surface is clearly defined against the dark-blue ground, and the details of the ornament - the complex blossoms and delicate tendrils - are rendered with great precision.

Gallery

• Ardabil Carpet-Victoria Albert Museum.jpg

  Ardabil Carpet (1539-1540), Albert Museum

• Ardabil Carpet-Lacma Museum.jpg

  Ardabil Carpet (1539-1540), Victoria Lacma Museum