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The most expensive rugs you're likely to see today
are antique Persian
rugs. Very few have remained in Iran as Europeans
have bought most of these pieces. It's rare to find one
for sale but you can still admire their beauty in museums
around the world.
One of the most famous Persian rugs was
the 'Spring Carpet of Chosroes', found in the palace of
Chosroes II at Ctesiphon when his Persian army was defeated
by the Byzantine Emperor Heraklius.
According to legend, when the Persian King Chosroes I defeated
the Romans in the conquest of southern Arabia this rug was
woven to commemorate the event. The rug was described as weighing
several tons and measuring several hundred feet in length
and width.
It had pure gold and silver threads and was inlaid with precious
gems, rubies, diamonds, and pearls.
The design was interlaced with paths along which, it is said,
the king used to stroll along to admire the scenes.
When the Arabs conquered Persia, this rug was so big that
they had to rip it into pieces in order to get at the precious
jewels, some of which still exist today in museums around
the world.
Safavid Weaving
Except for the 2500-year-old Pazyryk Rug and a few other fragments
found in Asia, almost all antique rugs that still exist are
from the Safavid dynasty.
In 1499, the Safavids began their conquest of Iran which
lasted from 1501-1722..
This period was the golden age of Persian art, and carpet
weaving was perhaps the greatest of the art forms. The Safavid
rulers established several royal factories in Persia for the
manufacture of various types of woven materials. The major
ones in central Iran were in Kashan, Kerman, Isfahan, Josheghan,
and Tabriz in the Northwest, and Yazd, Shiraz, Herat and Sabzewar
in the Northeast.
The setting up of royal factories meant that significant
quantities of beautiful rugs designed by some of the leading
artists of the day were produced under Imperial patronage.
The government of Iran in this era would seize and destroy
low quality carpets to keep the integrity of the art. By the
16th century, carpets were being woven in Iran on commission
for the European nobility.
The rugs of Safavid Persia were divided into several categories,
based on motifs, as well as historical or technical reasons.
The principal categories are: medallion, vase, garden, hunting,
figure, and compartment. There are also prayer rugs, but they
did not form as important a part of Persian weaving as they
do of Turkish.
In 1722 Afghanistan invaded Iran and brought the precious
rug industry to its knees. The art was almost lost but when
the Persians regained control of their country, the art of
weaving was born again.
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