Tabriz

Carpet weaving in the northwest Persian city of Tabriz has a long rich history going back to at least the fifteenth century. Classical Tabriz carpets of the Safavid era are known mainly for their distinctive medallion formats while those of the nineteenth century remain a favorite with decorators for their subtle palette and intricacy of weave and design. This seems to be a one-off piece; a nineteenth-century Tabriz carpet with a rendition of a seventeenth-century Kirman “vase carpet”. Interestingly, many of the floral buds and palmettes from the classical tradition have been transformed into the local Tabriz vernacular as have the proportions of this scatter-sized piece. The weave and deep color palette are both uniquely Tabriz as well.