A Tabriz carpet
Persia, circa 1900.
17ft 1in x 10ft 7in : 521cm x 323cm
The use of foreign flowers in Persian Art goes back many centuries, but for carpet designs they became popular in the 19th century when there was a fashion for all things French. The designs of naturalistic flowers were taken from needleworks which had dark backgrounds.
The town of Tabriz in the north west, was one of the main production centres for carpets and had a reputation for making fine carpets. The foreign flower design was also popular with weavers from the tribal areas.
