Serapi

This classic star-burst medallion Serapi has the grace and refinement of the very best nineteenth-century Northwest Persian carpets. The central medallion format, if not first formulated in this region, reached a classical zenith here under the patronage of the Safavid dynasty in the sixteenth century. This piece remains faithful to this tradition. Drawing is both spacious and finely detailed. A network of vine-scrolls meanders from the corner pieces through the field integrating the central medallion and binding the composition together. Of particular merit is the skilful way in which this vegetal tracery forms traditional Persian lily forms in the centers of each corner-piece.