CARPETS

The finest Persian carpets are considered to be those of the Safavid period. There are two possible reasons for this. Either this particular branch of the arts in Iran reached its zenith later than any other, or else the judgment may be explained by the fact that none of the Timurid textiles have been preserved and that their evaluation is therefore based entirely on miniatures, whereas we still possess a wealth of Safavid carpets and fabrics which attest their advanced stage of technical and aesthetic development. The miniatures leave us in no doubt as to the existence of carpets in the Timurid era. Moreover, the finest surviving knotted carpets date back to the early years of the Safavid dynasty and could not have originated spontaneously. References to precious carpets are found as early as the Sasanian period. These, however, will not be dealt with in the present survey, since the evidence does not provide any clear impression of their design or technique.

Timurid carpets

Two types of carpet can be seen in Timurid miniatures, those with geometrical and those with arabesque designs. For an excellent study of these rugs we are indebted to Amy Briggs. The geometrical type is the earlier and forms by far the larger group. The geometrical carpets were replaced towards the end of the 9th/15th century by those with arabesque and floral patterns, the best examples of which are found in miniatures by Bihzād and his school. Bihzād, who lived approximately from 1455 to 1535–6, belonged to the Herat school and in 1522 he was appointed librarian to Shah Ismā'īl I in Tabrīz.