Ṣafawid Rugs and Textiles: The Collection of the Shrine of Imām ‘Alī at Al-Najaf 9780231876728

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Safawid Rugs and Textiles

Mehmet Aga-Oglu

Safawid Rugs and Textiles THE COLLECTION

OF T H E

O F I M Ä M 'ALI A T

SHRINE

AL-NAJAF

New York: Morningside Heights COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MCMXLI

PRESS

'The American Council of Learned Societies has generously contributedfunds to assist in the publication of this volume

COPYRIGHT 1941

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS Foreign Agents:

OXFORD U N I V E R S I T Y PRESS,

Humphrey Miljord, Amen

House, London, E.C. 4, England, AND B. I. Building, Nicol Road, Bombay, India;

MARUZEN C O M P A N Y , LTD.,

6 Nibonbasbi,

Tori-Nicbome, Tokyo, PRINTED IN T H E UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

'Japan

TO A L E X A N D E R

GRANT

RUTHVEN

President of the University of Michigan

Preface

I

of 1934 the Iranian nation commemorated the millennial anniversary of its great epic poet, Abü'l Qásim Firdaüsí, the immortal creator of the Shah Namab. Having been delegated to represent the University of Michigan and the Detroit Institute of Arts at this celebration in Tus and the Congress of Orientalists held in Teheran, the writer had the opportunity to visit, during his long journey, some art centers of the Near East unknown to him at the time of previous travels. In 'Iraq his attention was concentrated mainly on two cities, Karbalá' and al-Najaf, with their holy Shrines, hitherto unknown to research. These Shrines had never been visited before by a historian of art, and it was the writer's hope to discover there treasures accumulated during the past centuries. The results of the investigations, made possible through the special permission and arrangement of the Royal 'Iraq Government, were far below the expectations. Nevertheless, an important group of rugs and textiles was found in the Shrine of Imam 'All at al-Najaf, which forms the subject of this book. No attempt has been made to treat the material published here as a basis for a general discussion of the historical and artistic development of Persian rugs and textiles of the period to which they belong. Such a treatise would make it necessary to repeat facts well known through the studies of F. R. Martin, Fr. Sarre, E. Kühnel, A. F. Kendrick, O. von Falke, C. E. C. Tattersall, A. J. B. Wace, M. S. Dimand, E. Flemming, and recent contributions of P. Ackerman, A. U. Pope, N. A. Reath-E. B. Sachs, and others whose works have made it possible to widen the scope of research in this field. The principal purpose of this publication is, therefore, merely to present selected specimens from the collection of the Shrine, someof which were hitherto little known, the others being of entirelynew types, and through a comparative study endeavor to establish their places in the vast amount of material already published. In doing so, the present writer inevitably encountered some problematic questions which are dealt with briefly, again with no intent to solve them, but merely to suggest further considerations. N THE AUTUMN

While discussing the textiles, the attributions to weaving centers (such as Yazd, Káshán, I§fahan, and others known from literary sources, without, however, specific

viii

PREFACE

indications to permit definite assignments) have been avoided so as not to add more confusion, from which the study of Persian art already seriously suffers. It is the pleasant duty of the writer to express his most sincere thanks to the members of the Royal 'Iraq Government of the year 1934, and particularly to his Excellency, the former Prime Minister 'All Jawdat Bey, Professor Sati' Bey, Director of Antiquities, and Dr. Muhammad Fadel Jamall Bey, Director General of Public Instruction, for their generous assistance. Thanks are due also to the Chief Keeper of the Holy Shrine at al-Najaf, Mr. Al-Sayyid 'Abbas Al-Rafi'i, whose hospitality is a source of pleasant memories, and to Mr. Husayn Bey Al-Rabi'i, Inspector of Antiquities, who accompanied the writer to Karbala' and al-Najaf. The writer desires to acknowledge permission given by Bay Tahsin Oz, Director of Topkapi Sarayi Miizesi in Istanbul, for the reproduction of the previously unpublished Safawid coat in Figure 11, as well as the courtesies of Lord Aberconway, London, for Figure 4, of the Procuratoria of St. Mark in Venice for Figure 7, of the Chief Keeper of the Treasury of Imam Rida Shrine at Mashhad for Figure 8 and of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for Figure 14. Finally, for advice in reading the Persian inscriptions on the silk hanging in Plate X I X , gratitude is owed to Dr. Mohammed A. Simsar, of the University of Pennsylvania. MEHMET

Woodstock, New York

AGA-OGLU

Contents HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

3

THE COLLECTION

7

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES

30

APPENDICES A. Safawid Textile Weavers

43

B. Dated Safawid Textiles

48

BIBLIOGRAPHY

49

INDEX

57

THE PLATES

63

Figures 1. Air View of the Shrine of Imam 'All, al-Najaf

4

2. Arabesque of the Rug Reproduced in Plate I

9

3. Scrolling Stems of the Rug Reproduced in Plate I

10

4. Fragment of a Silk Rug Enriched with Gold and Silver Threads. Isfahan, early seventeenth century. Collection of Lord Aberconway, London

10

5. Silk Rug Enriched with Gold and Silver Threads. Isfahan, early seventeenth century. Collection of L. Bernheimer, Munich 6. Scrolling Bands of the Rug Reproduced in Plate II

10 12

7. Silk Rug Enriched with Gold and Silver Threads. Isfahan, early seventeenth century. Treasury of Cathedral of St. Mark, Venice

12

8. Woolen Rug Enriched with Gold and Silver Threads. East Persia, early seventeenth century. Treasury of the Shrine of Imam Rida, Mashad

12

9. Scrolling Bands of the Rug Reproduced in Figure 7

13

10. Scrolling Stems of the Rug Reproduced in Figure 8

14

11. Coat of Velvet Embroidered with Gold and Silk Threads. Late sixteenth century. Topkapi Sarayi Muzesi, Istanbul 12. Design of the Brocaded Silk Reproduced in Plate X I V

16 21

13. Detail from the Miniature Representing the Reception of the Persian Embassy by Aurangzib. Mughal, late seventeenth century. Bodleian Library, Oxford 14. Seated Youth. Persian, late seventeenth century. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

26 26

Plates Rug Knotted in Silk and Brocaded with Gold and Silver. Isfahan, early seventeenth century

I

Rug Knotted and Woven in Silk and Brocaded with Gold and Silver. Isfahan, early seventeenth century

u

Rug Knotted in Wool and Brocaded with Gold and Silver. Isfahan, early seventeenth century

in

Rug Knotted in Wool and Brocaded in Gold and Silver. Isfahan, early seventeenth century

iv

Border of a Rug Knotted in Wool and Brocaded with Gold and Silver. Isfahan, early seventeenth century

v

Rug Knotted in Wool and Brocaded with Gold and Silver. Isfahan, early seventeenth century

vi

Panel of Velvet Embroidered with Gold and Silk. Late sixteenth century

vn

Panel of Brocaded Velvet. Late sixteenth or early seventeenth century

vm

Panel of Velvet. Late sixteenth or early seventeenth century

ix

Panel of Brocaded Velvet. Late sixteenth or early seventeenth century

x

Panel of Brocaded Velvet. Middle seventeenth century

xi

Cover of Imam's Tomb, Brocaded Silk. Woven by Saifi-i 'AbbasT, early seventeenth century

xn

Enlarged Detail of Brocaded Silk Woven by Salfl-i 'AbbasT Reproduced in Plate XII

XIII

Cover of Imam's Tomb, Brocaded Silk. Early seventeenth century

xiv

Cover of Imam's Tomb, Brocaded Silk. Early seventeenth century

xv

Cover of Imam's Tomb, Brocaded Silk. Early seventeenth century

xvi

xiv

PLATES

Cover of Imam's Tomb, Brocaded Silk. Early seventeenth century Hanging of Brocaded Silk. Woven by Ibn Qutb al-Din, dated 1036 A.H. (1626) Hanging of Brocaded Silk. Dated 1129 A. H. (1716/17) Panel of Brocaded Silk. Early eighteenth century Tomb Cover of Brocaded Silk. Early eighteenth century Panel of Brocaded Silk. Early eighteenth century

xvn xvm xix xx xxi xxn

Cover Woven in Silk. Late seventeenth century

xxm

Cover Embroidered in Silk. Early seventeenth century

xxiv

Cover Embroidered in Silk. Seventeenth century Cover Embroidered in Silk. Early eighteenth century

xxv xxvi

Cover Embroidered in Silk. Eighteenth century

xxvn

Cover Embroidered in Silk. Eighteenth century

xxvm

Safawid Rugs and Textiles

Historical Introduction % HE CITY OF A L - N A J A F

lies approximately six miles west of al-Kufah, the early

Arab military camp founded in the year 637 and the residence of the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet, the fourth Orthodox caliph, 'All ibn Abi Talib, during his ill-fated political struggles with the ascending power of the House of Umayyad. The foundation of al-Najaf and its rise to become one of the most venerated sacred cities of the Islamic world are closely connected with the historical and religious development of the caliphate toward the end of the seventh century. Elected to the highest office of the Islamic state after the assassination of 'Uthman in the year 656, 'All was destined to meet a strong opposition which brought him to a disastrous climax and inaugurated the most important religious split in Islam. Securing an apparent loyalty in al-Madinah, 'All's immediate anxiety was to remove the danger of two powerful leaders, T a lhah ibn 'Abd-Allah and al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam, who, sponsored by the favorite wife of the Prophet, 'A'ishah, refused to acknowledge 'All as the legitimate successor to the caliphate. 'All left al-Madinah five months after his election to meet his opponent in 'Iraq and, in an engagement known as the "Battle of the Camel" at Khuraiba near al-Ba§rah, he defeated Talhah and al-Zubayr, captured 'A'ishah, and for a short time seemed to dominate the situation. In spite of this success, the opposition was growing more rapidly in Syria, where the governor, Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, a relative of 'Uthman, rebelled against the new head of the state, considering him a conspirator in the assassination of the third caliph. 'All, at the head of an army, moved from his residence at al-Kufah to meet the challenge of the Syrians. Near al-Raqqah in northern 'Iraq, the two parties opened hostilities. After persistent fighting, which lasted one hundred and one days, without, however, any decisive result, an agreement to arbitrate was reached. The outcome of conferences held by the representatives of 'All and Mu'awiyah was adverse to the former, who was declared deposed from office. T h e silent acceptance of this decision by 'All turned a number of his own dissatisfied followers, the Kharijites r against him, which finally led to an open conflict. 'All desperately attacked their force at Nahrawan in July, 658, and overwhelmed them so severely that only ten Kharijites could seek safety for their lives by leaving the scene of battle.

HISTORICAL

4

INTRODUCTION

Having returned to al-Kufah, this time, however, not as head of the state, but merely as a pretender, 'All for two and a half years remained inactive in the political affairs of the caliphate, the leadership of which was passing to his rival, M u ' a w i y a h , the founder of the U m a y y a d dynasty in Damascus. Here in al-Kufah, 'All was mortally wounded on January 24, 661, by a member of the Kharijite party, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljam al-Sariml. 1 T h e tragic end of 'All was the beginning of a political party, the Shl'ah, called to existence with the aim of defending the rights of 'All's descendants to the spiritual leadership of the Islamic community. This movement, directed against the Umayyads of Damascus, found a ready acceptance among the Persians, who were desirous of restoring their national supremacy after the destructive conquest of the Sasanian kingdom by the Arabs, and in which they finally succeeded by promoting the cause of the 'Abbasids and establishing a new caliphate at Baghdad. Purely political in its principles, this Shi'ah movement was gradually transformed to a religious order which elevated 'All to sainthood, even to the degree that he was considered WaliAlldb while Muhammad the Prophet was only Nabi

(the Friend of G o d ) ,

(the Messenger of G o d ) . As an outcome

of this cult, the worldly remains of 'All in al-Najaf, and of his martyred son al-Husayn in Karbala', became, with the increase of Shi'ism, the principal objectives of veneration and pious pilgrimage of rich and poor from all over the Shl'ah world. A well-known popular tradition connects the foundation of al-Najaf with the will of the assassinated caliph. It is stated that, dying from the stroke of a poisoned sword of the revenging Kharijite. 'All expressed the desire that his body be mounted on a loosed camel and entombed at the spot where the camel knelt. Buried in the desert near al-Kufah, 2 the tomb of the caliph remained forgotten for more than a century, until it was, according 1

For a more detailed account of historical events,

consult H . Lammens, Etudes sur le règne de calife omaiyade Mo'âwia

1er; or P . K . H i t t i , History

of

the Arabs, pp. 178 ff. 2

T h e burial place of the caliph, generally called

Maghhad ' A l l , was sought both in the great mosque at a l - K u f a h and in al-Madïnah near the tomb of his wife, F â f i m a h , who was also the daughter of the Prophet, although the exact site of her tomb is also unknown. See al-Iççakhrï, Masâlik

al-Mamàlik,

p.

8a; al-Mas'ûdî, Murûj al-Dhahab, V I I I , 289; Y â q u t , Mu'jam

al-Buldân,

I V , 760. T h e tomb, according

to another tradition, was located a t Q a ç r al-'Imârah. See L . Caetani, Annali

dell' Islam, X , 967. More-

over, Ibn J u b a y r doubted the authenticity of the

tomb in a l - N a j a f and was inclined to place it at the U m a y y a d M o s q u e in Damascus. See Rihlah, pp. 212 and 267. Y ä q ü t , op. cit., I I I , 759, mentions also a M a s h h a d ' A l i in 'Ain al-Baqar near ' A k k a . For further A r a b i c source literature, consult M . L . Massignon, Mission en Mésopotamie (1907-1908), I, 50 f., and Bibliotheca Geograpborum Arabicorum, I I I , 46. A c c o r d i n g to a supposition, recorded by the twelfth-century traveler al-Gharna^T. the grave of I m a m ' A l l was discovered in the town Mazär-i Sharif, fourteen miles east o f the ancient city B a l k h (Kitäb Tuhfat al-Albäb wa Nukhbat al'Ajäb, in B . B. Bapmib^T., TypKecTam. BT> snoxy MOHrojihCKaro HaiuecTBia. I , a i f. and II, 81. See also H . V a m b é r y , Geschichte Bochara's oder Transoxaniens, I I , 103).

Figure i. Air View of the Shrine of Imam 'Ali, al-Najaf

HISTORICAL

INTRODUCTION

5

to another statement, miraculously discovered in the year 791 by the famous 'Abbasid caliph, Harun al-Rashld.' Except for these two traditions, the Islamic historical and geographical sources are silent about both the tomb and the city itself until the middle of the tenth century. One of the first writers to give brief information is Ibn Flawqal. According to him, the governor of the north Mesopotamian city, al-Mawsil, and the prince of the Hamdanid dynasty, Abu'l-Haija' (died 929) had ordered a mausoleum to be built over the tomb of Imam 'All. This Shrine, in the shape of a dome over four columns, was generously adorned with precious coverings and hangings.4 Half a century later, the Shi'ah ruler of southern Persia and 'Iraq, 'Adud al-Dawla Abu Shuja' Fena Khosraw. the famous member of the Buyid dynasty, is mentioned as the founder of an

'imaret

in the year 980.5 It is, however, not indicated if, with this building,

the Shrine itself was reconstructed, replacing that founded by the Hamdanid prince. We know that 'Adud al-Dawla and his sons, Sharaf al-Dawla and Baha' al-Dawla, were buried at al-Najaf, so that the building must have been in some way connected with their own mausoleum. Thus, this

'imaret

probably was a unit for itself which still existed

in the first half of the fourteenth century, 6 since we are informed that the Shrine of the caliph was burned to the ground in the year 1051 by the Baghdad populace in revolt against the Shi'ah communities of 'Iraq. When and by whom the Shrine was rebuilt after this destruction is not known. Thirtysix years later, in 1087, the great Seljuq Sultan, Malikshah, and his famous Wezir, Nizam al-Mulk, are reported to have made a pilgrimage to the tomb of 'All, 7 which most certainly at that time did not lie in ruins. Otherwise, it seems reasonable to suppose that Malikshah would have ordered the restoration or reconstruction of the Shrine which, however, is not mentioned by the authority who records the pilgrimage. We hear again from the Spanish-Arabic traveler, Ibn Jubayr, who visited al-Najaf about one hundred years later in 1184 that the Shrine of Imam was richly covered with large and small wall hangings.8 Under the reign of the Il-Khan king of Persia, Ghazan Mahmud, who embraced the Shi'ah confession and recognized Islam as the state religion, there were built by his order adjoining the Shrine, a dormitory, 3

Dar

al-sayyidah,

Hamd-AJlah Mustawfi QazwinI, Nuzbat al-

Qiilub, p . 3 1 . 4

Al-Masalik

w-al-Mamalik,

p. 163. C f . also G .

„ ,. ,

PP- 7 7 fQ a z w i n I , loc. cit.

P-

Ibid.', also his Tar'tkb-i Guzida, p. 198. Cf. G.

322-

7

His

khdnakab.9

I^e S t r a n g e , Baghdad during the Abbasid

L e S t r a n g e , The Lands of the Eastern Caltpbate,

s

6

and a monastery,

P. Horn, "Geschichte Irans in

£ejt „ ^

^

8

\bid., p . 2 8 1 .

9

Q a z w i n I , Nuzbat al-tyulub, p . 3 1 .

Caliphate, .

lslamischer

6

HISTORICAL

INTRODUCTION

successor, Uljaitu Khoda Bende Muhammad, after his visit to al-Najaf in 1310, is said to have entertained the project of transferring the remains of Imam 'All and his son, Imam al-Husayn, to his newly founded capital city, Sultaniya, and for this purpose he erected a magnificent mausoleum. The plan, however, was not realized, and the mausoleum was destined to be his own resting place.10 At the beginning of the fourteenth century, al-Najaf must have been a town of considerable size. The famous traveler, Ibn Battutah, who visited the city in the year 1326, speaks of it as "one of the most beautiful in the entire 'Iraq." The Imam sanctuary, al-qubbab, according to his description, was richly furnished with silk hangings, rugs, and lamps of gold and silver, and the wooden sarcophagus, containing three tombs attributed to Adam, Noah, and 'All, was plated with gold.11 From the third decade of the fourteenth century until the beginning of the sixteenth century, we find almost no reference to al-Najaf. However, the importance of both sacred cities, Karbala' and al-Najaf, was greatly revived with the foundation of the Safawid dynasty in Persia, and the establishment of a national policy based on Shi'ah as the state religion. Subsequently, as a result of continuous warfare between Persia and the Ottoman Empire, 'Iraq became the scene of hostilities and was subjected several times to one or the other power. In the year 1508 the country was occupied by Shah Isma'il I, whose first act was to make a pilgrimage to the Shrine.12 Twenty-three years later, 'Iraq was added to the domain of the Turks, and again we are informed that the conqueror, Sulayman the Magnificent, visited the Shrine during his stay in Baghdad in the year 1534. 13 In 1623 Baghdad, as well as al-Najaf and Karbala', was temporarily occupied by Shah 'Abbas I, but his successor, Shah Safi I, was forced by the Turks to abandon the cities in the year 1638. From this date until after the World War of 1914, 'Iraq was under Turkish rule, but the sacred cities of al-Najaf and Karbala' remained the seats of high Persian Shi'ah clergy, and the principal places of pilgrimage for millions of believers from Persia, India, and other Shi'ah communities of Islamic countries. Finally, by the order of Nadir Shah Afehar, who made a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Imam 'All in 1743, it was extensively repaired and the dome of the sanctuary was covered with gilded metal tiles,14 still glittering today as a symbol of the devotion of multitudes. 10

H. H. Howarth, History of the Mongols, Part 3, p. 559; and P . M . Sykes, A History of Persia, 11,235. 11 Tuhfat al-Nuzzar ft Qhara'ib al-Amsar wa'Aja'tb al-Asfar, I, 416. 12 CI. Huart, Histoire de Bagdad dans les temps modernes, p. 33. 13 J . von Hammer, Gescbicbte des osmaniscben Reicbes, I I , 1 1 8 .

14

Mahdi 'All M a n , Tartki-i Nadiri, p. 130. Cf. Beawes's Narrative of a Journey from Aleppo to Basra in 1745, p. 23, and L. Lockhart, Nadir Sbab, P- 233. The two minarets of the sanctuary were built by Muhammad Pasha, the governor of Baghdad, during his years of office (1656-59). Huart, op. cit., p. 100.

The Collection

T

hopefully expressed by Gertrude L. Bell in her description of Karbalä' that the golden dome of the sanctuary of Imam alHusayn "covers the richest treasure of offerings possessed by any known shrine (unless the treasure in 'All's tomb at Nejef touch a yet higher value)" 1 proves to be not an actual fact, but a conclusion drawn from the consideration of the religious importance of these Shrines among the followers of the Shl'ah confession during more than a thousand years. No doubt both Shrines possessed at one or another time priceless objects donated by the kings and nobles, but of these only a few pieces of unusual artistic and historical importance remain. HE G E N E R A L B E L I E F SO

The Shrine of Imam al-Husayn,2 except for two small küfi Qu'rän manuscripts of a well-known type, does not bear any object of art historical significance. This is due, most certainly, to the fact that, as was also confirmed by the official keepers of the sanctuary, the city of Karbalä', with its Shrine, was invaded and plundered in the year 1801 by the Wahhäbi Arabs, the bitter enemies of the cult of saints and the modern champions of puritanical Islam.3 The same fate befell al-Najaf,4 but evidently the treasure of 'Alls' Shrine was pardy saved from looting, since there are preserved a number of rugs and textiles deposited in two small windowless rooms behind the sanctuary chamber. According to the Chief Keeper, there is also a subterranean al-khizänab-treasuryT where are kept the donations offered by the pilgrims. All efforts to be permitted to examine this al-khizänab were unavailing, since it was stated that its door can be opened only to royalties. The al-khizänab has been inspected but a few times in the present century—by the high officials of the Ottoman Empire, by the Persian Shäh Muzaffar al-DIn, and by the late King of 'Iraq, Amir Faysal. 1 Amurath to Amuratb, p. 160. Cf. also F. Langenegger, "Die Grabesmoscheen der Schi'iten im

Iraq," Globus, Vol. X C V I I , p. 231.

siebzigsten Geburtstage gewidmet von Freunden und Schülern, pp. 393 ff. 3 As

protest against the veneration of saints, the

Concerning the history of this Shrine, see A. ....... . _ ... , ,T • ts , t* Noldeke, Das Heihgtum al-Husams zu Kerbela.

Wahhäbis plundered not only Karbalä' and alNajaf, but also conquered Mecca and violated the t o m b o f t h e P r o p h e t i n a i_ M a dinah. C. H. Becker,

About the bibliography on Karbalä' consult M.

Islamstudien, I, 380.

2

Streck, "Kerbelä," Festschrift. Eduard Sachau zum

4

D. M. Donaldson, The Shi'ite Religion, p. 63.

8

THE

COLLECTION

Considering the fact that the rugs and textiles in question were not regarded as objects to be safeguarded in the al-khizanah, and were stored almost carelessly in the corners of the rooms mentioned above, and that objects of precious metals and stones are, in the conception of present-day keepers of the Shrine not versed in the appreciation of the fine arts, the only valuable items, it is probable that actually there is nothing of art historical value in this subterranean chamber. The information gathered from the local officials seemed to confirm this conclusion. It was also impossible to make an examination inside the grating which protects the tomb, where there might be some textile coverings and candlesticks or other objects which are usually placed over the sarcophagus. One thing, however, remains certain, that the Shrine does not at present possess rich treasures of art. This is nearly true also with regard to two other much venerated Shi'ah sanctuaries in Mashhad and Qumm, and not less with the mausoleum of the founder of the Safawid dynasty, Shavkh Safi in Ardebll.6 The collection in the Shrine of Imam 'All consists of seven complete and fragmentary rugs, one large round tomb cover of various silk fabrics sewed together, two silk hangings, eight velvet and brocaded silk panels, one fragmentary tapestry, and six silk embroidered covers. Besides these there are a great number of Persian rugs and textiles of post-Safawid period, and some Turkish embroideries which are not of particular importance. RUGS

The four complete and three fragmentary rugs preserved in the Shrine are of exceptional art historical interest, and they should be considered as examples of the notable works manufactured in the court looms of Isfahan. Technically they are related to the wellknown so-called "Polish" rugs, knotted in silk and brocaded with gold (silver gilt) and silver threads. Distinctly Persian in the general conception of their designs and colors, but forming a group by themselves because of characteristic technical features, these rugs are among the most luxurious works of art produced in the Near East. The question of when and where this combination of two entirely different techniques, which in itself constitutes the highest degree of artistic attainment reached in the course of a continuous development, was introduced for the first time still remains to be answered,6 in spite of 6

The number of objects sent by the Iranian Government from these shrines to the International Exhibition of Persian Art in London, 1931, was below expectations. There were, altogether, twenty pieces of rugs and textiles: eight pieces from the Shrine of Imam Rida at Mashhad; four items (not considering eight silk rugs from the mausoleum of Shah 'Abbas I I ) from the Shrine of Fatimah, the daughter of the seventh Imam Musa al-Kazim at

Qumm; and eight pieces from the mausoleum of Shaykh Safi in Ardebll. See Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Persian Art, p. 345. 6 For detailed discussion of technical and stylistic aspects of rugs and tapestries brocaded with gold and silver threads, consult M. S. Dimand, Loan Exhibition of Persian Rugs, of the So-called Polish Type, and A. U. Pope, "The Art of Carpet Making," A Survey of Persian Art, pp. 2388 ff.

THE

COLLECTION

9

extensive literature on the subject. A s is generally known, however, it was successfully employed in Persia during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and particularly under the reign of Shäh 'Abbäs I

(1587-1628),

whose name is associated with the rugs presented here. The large silk rug brocaded with gold and silver threads, a portion of which is reproduced in Plate I, is one of the sumptuous masterpieces of the period mentioned. Because of the unusual size of this rug, which was originally made in two pieces each measuring 1,403 cm. by 478 cm., 7 extremely refined technical execution, and rare design, it deserves

Figure 2. Arabesque of the Rug

special consideration. The field of the rug,

Reproduced in Plate I

on a brilliant crimson ground, is occupied by two systems of allover pattern: large arabesque bands and minute floriated scrolling stems. The principal decoration, the arabesque bands, forms an ingenious system, the units of which are developed symmetrically in all directions (Figure 2) and are placed in such a manner that their branches are interlaced, thus producing an admirable effect. On the junctions of the bands are large shieldlike palmettes containing complex lotus and arabesques. The second system of scrolling stems (Figure 3) is the background design, but of more elaborate compositional form, and bears delicate lotus and leaf palmettes, conventional flowers, and serrated leaves harmoniously filling the free space between the arabesque bands, themselves enriched with floriated stems. The border of the rug is too narrow in proportion to the size of the field.8 Nevertheless, it is distinctive because of its light-blue ground and the delicate design contrasting with the colors and powerful pattern of the field. 8 The narrow border is found on some related The largest hitherto known brocaded rug was the coronation rug in Rosenborg Castle in Copen- rugs; for example, on the piece reproduced in Figure hagen, which measures 5 2 5 cm. by 3 0 5 cm. F. R. 4, or on the rug in the collection of Fürst J . LiechMartin, A History oj Oriental Carpets before 1800, tenstein in Vienna (W. von Bode and E. Kühnel, p. 66, pi. 8; or V. Slomann, "The Coronation Vorderasiatische Kniipjteppicbe aus älterer Zeit, Carpet of the King of Denmark," Bulletin oj the fig. 43). American Institute for Persian Art and Archeology, p. 14, fig. 1. 7

IO

THE

COLLECTION

The design employed in this rug finds its identical counterpart in a fragment (252 cm. by 137 cm.) in the collection of Lord Aberconway in London (Figure 4).® Of the same materials, techniques, and colors, it is the only known fragment, most certainly of a large rug with this particular arabesque motif, which stands alone in the ornamental repertoire of Persian rug making. Although large arabesque bands are frequently engaged as the design of borders10 and sometimes are used in various arrangements as a subordinated element in connection with other ornaments in a field," nevertheless, as the principal Figure j . Scrolling Stems of the Rug motif in repeated and interlaced composition it is, so far, unknown. Its general treatment Reproduced in Plate I suggests a textile pattern rather than that of a rug and as such was common in the earlier and contemporary weavings, as is evidenced by representations in paintings. A caparison of a horse in a miniature from the first half of the sixteenth century depicting a battle, now in the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh,12 a tent cover in a rustic scene by Mir Sayyid 'All in the collection of L. Cartier in Paris, 13 or another in a miniature representing an episode from the Läilä wa Majnün romance by the same painter in the famous Khamsah manuscript of the year 1543 in the British Museum,14 are examples showing textiles with similar ornamentations. 9

One of the borders has been sewed to the fragment. For colored reproduction see C. E. C. Tattersall, "Carpets and Textiles at the Persian Exhibition," Apollo, X V I I I (1931), 2; or A. U. Pope, op. cit., p. 2395, pi. 1252. 10 A. F. Kendrick and C. E. C. Tattersall, Fine

werken muhammedanischer Kunst, Vol. Ill, pi. 56; Fr. Sarre and H. Trenkwald, op. cit., Vol. I, pi. 3 1 ,

and Vol. II, pi. 9; The V. and L. Benguiat Private Collection of Rare Old Rugs, No. 13.

An arabesque band of a form almost identical to those of the al-Najaf rug is the principal design Carpets in the Victoria and Albert Museum, pi. 6; of a seventeenth-century rug in the possession of Fr. Sarre and H. Trenkwald, Old Oriental Carpets, M. Parish-Watson in New York. The motif occupies Vol. I, pis. 23, 25, and 33, and Vol. II, pis. 13 and the entire field and is not repeated. M. Aga-Oglu, 49; K. Erdmann, "Tappeti Persiani," Dedalo, Exhibition of Islamic Art, p. 65, No. 241. 12 Vol. X I I (1932), figures on pp. 7 1 1 , 717, and L. Binyon, J . V. S. Wilkinson, and B. Gray, 719. Persian Miniature Painting, p. 137, pi. 145A. 166. 11

15 W. R. Valentiner, Catalogue of a Loan ExhibiA. Sakisian, La Miniature persane, pi. 85, fig. tion of Early Oriental Rugs, p. 50, fig. 41; Fr. Sarre 152. 11 and F. R. Martin, Die Ausstellung von MeisterL. Binyon, The Poems of Nizami, pi. 12.

Figure 4. Fragment of a Silk Rug Enriched with Gold and Silver Threads Isjaban, early seventeenth century. Collection oj Lord Aberconway, London

Figure

Silk Rug Enriched with Gold and Silver Threads

Isfahan, early seventeenth century. Possession of L. Bernbeimer,

Munich

THE

COLLECTION

11

So far as is known, only one textile with this motif is preserved, a seventeenth-century blue satin in the Museum für Kunst und Industrie in Vienna, woven by Jan Muhammad, with an all-over pattern of arabesque bands interlaced with stems bearing conventional flowers and palmettes.15 The arabesques themselves likewise contain floriated stems. Although the compositional treatment of the design on this satin is entirely different from that of the rug in question, nonetheless, the decorative effect is the same. Moreover, the motif appears frequently in book illuminations and architectural decorations of the seventeenth century, which in many respects find their parallels in the contemporary textile designs.16 While in its main decoration the al-Najaf rug falls under the influence of textile art, the other ornamental elements connect it with the rugs of the so-called "Polish" type. The large shieldlike palmettes 17 placed on the junctions of the arabesque bands and containing lotus and arabesque devices similarly decorate, for example, an early seventeenth-century brocaded silk rug in the possession of Bernheimer in Munich (Figure 5). This relationship is clearly evident in the border. The light-blue ground with its design composed of lotus palmettes, curved, serrated lanceolate leaves, and t'cbi motifs in light color tones is very characteristic for the entire group. Considering the singular place of the design of this rug and its mate, the fragment in the collection of Lord Aberconway, among known works of the Safawid period, it can be assumed with certainty that they were made during the first two decades of the seventeenth century in the royal atelier in Isfahan. T o the same atelier and period should be attributed also the second large silk rug in the Shrine. This piece, with a somewhat bold and powerful design, is another rare specimen of fine quality and rich material (Plate I I ) . Lavishly brocaded with gold and silver threads, the field of the rug, on a woven ground, is decorated with compositionally identical units of large scrolling bands

ending

Fr. Sarre and F. R. Martin, op. cit., Vol. I l l , pi. 201. Cf. also a brocaded silk with a design of arabesque bands in the possession of D. G. Kelekian. J. Guiffrey and G. Migeon, La Collection Kelekian, pi. 60. 16 For book illumination, see G. Marteau and H. Vever, Miniatures persanes, pis. 26 and 108; for architectural decoration, E. Diez, Cburasanische Baudenkmäler, pi. 25, and A. Godard, "Historique du Mas4j.id-e Djum'a d'Ijfahän," Athär-e Iran,

Vol. I (1936), fig. 171; for ar. eighteenth-century tile decoration, A Survey of Persian Art, Vol. V, pi. 548. 17 This motif is among many ornaments of the wall paintings of 'Alä Qapi Palace in Isfahan which appear in modified or identical forms again and again on textiles and rugs. J. Daridan and S. Stelling-Michaud, La Peinture sefevide d'Ispahan, pi. 2.

16

with

serrated

lanceolate

leaves

12

THE

COLLECTION (Figure 6) and repeated in complementary position. Large lotus and leaf palmettes, rosettes, lobed ogival medallions, conventional flowers, and serrated leaves symmetrically attached to the bands are the dominating elements of the design which is of quite unusual compositional treatment. All these ornamental motifs are found on a silk rug, which is related also in its technique, in the treasury of the Cathedral of St. M a r k in Venice (Figure 7). 1 8 The pair of

more

elaborately

composed

scrolling bands of this rug (Figure 9) have the same function as in the alN a j a f piece. Also, the pattern of the outer and inner border strips, with a few slight variations, is common for both pieces, the only notable difference being in the decoration of the main border. A second rug, knotted in wool and Figure 6. Scrolling Bands of the R u g

brocaded with metal threads, in the

Reproduced in Plate II

Shrine of Imam Rida at Mashhad (Figure 8), is another comparative piece,

although it differs from the al-Najaf and St. M a r k rugs in the technical execution of the field, which, in this case, is knotted. T h e scrollwork of floriated stems is approximately the same (Figure 10), but not of such a dominating feature. Furthermore, the complex lotus and leaf palmettes, serrated leaves, rosettes, small t'cbi motifs, and, above all, the large ten-pointed starlike rosettes are common to all three pieces. T h e design of the border strips is akin in many points, also. T h e undulating stems, bearing large leaf palmettes containing lotus, appear in the main border of the al-Najaf and Mashhad rugs, as does the background design of minute floriated spiral stems. T h e only differences are that the border of the al-Najaf piece has an additional undulating arabesque and the 18 A. Pasini, li 'Tesoro di San Marco in Venezia, on p. 127; C. E. C. Tattersall, "Carpets and Texp. 122, pi. 89 and 90; Aldo Ravà, "I tappeti Per- tiles at the Persian Exhibition," Apollo, Vol. siani della Chiesa di San Marco," pp. 125 f., figure X V I I I (1931), fig. v .

Figure J. Silk R u g Enriched with Gold and Silver Threads Isfahan, early seventeenth century. T"reasury oj Cathedral oj St. Mark, Venice

Figure 8. Woolen R u g Enriched with Gold and Silver Threads East Persia, early seventeenth century. Treasury of the Shrine oj Imam Rida, Mashbad

THE COLLECTION

13

field of the rug in the Shrine of Imam Rida is richly embellished by cloud bands, introducing a certain rhythmic movement. It should be noted, however, that the design of the Maghhad rug follows the general traditional form of composition, more characteristic of the rugs of East Persian origin than those of court manufacture in Isfahan. According to a local tradition, the rug at al Najaf had been presented to the Shrine by Shah 'Abbas I.The same is said also about the piece at Mashhad,18 and we know definitely that the rug in the Cathedral of St. Mark is one of the presentations made in the year 1603 by the same Safawid king to the Doge Mariano Grimini.20 This historical fact makes it certain that all three pieces were produced during the first decade of the seventeenth century. Some ornamental elements of the rugs in alNajaf and St. Mark's link them to the group of so-called "Vase" rugs, the relationship of which, on the other hand, to the so-called Figure p. Scrolling Bands of the Rug "Polish" type is generally established.21 The Reproduced in Figure 7 lobed ogival medallions with their lotus palmettes, arabesques, and floriated stems have close similarity to the design of some ogival compartments of the "Vase" rugs, as for example, the piece in the Schlossmuseum in Berlin22 or on the rug in the collection of the late C. H. Mackay in New York.23 There 19

Catalogue of the International Exhibition of

Persian Art, p. 158, No. 252. Is this piece one of the "sumptuous rugs of Kirmàn and Jushaqân" sent

Doge of Venice, one in 1603 and the others in 1613 and 1622. 21

A. U.

Pope, "Datierte

Seidenteppiche im

by Shah 'Abbâs I in the year 1598 and recorded by

Mausoleum zu Kum in Persien," Kunstchronik und

annalist Iskender Munshï? 'Ta'rlkh-i 'Âlam-àrà-i

Kunstmarkt, X X X V (1925), 3 1 1 f.

'Abbâst, p. 398; cf. V. Minorsky, "Geographical

22

Factors in Persian Art," Bulletin of the School of

pl. 6.

Oriental Studies, I X (1936), 640, n. 2. 20

23

Fr. Sarre and H. Trenkwald, op. cit., Vol. II, M. Aga-Oglu, op. cit., p. 53, No. 129. Cf. also

A . Pasini, op. cit., p. 122; Aldo Ravà, loc. cit.

such ornaments as large leaf palmettes, round

There were three embassies of Shah 'Abbas to the

lobed rosettes, lanceolate leaves enriched with

14

THE

COLLECTION can be no question that all these rugs belong to the same period, but unmistakably were produced in different manufacturing centers. One of these centers, probably JGshaqán, specialized in the "Vase" rugs, while another, the royal atelier in Isfahan, produced works expressing the exuberant luxury of the court by means of costly material and perfect technical execution. However, because of lack of tradition, the court looms of Isfahan borrowed ornamental motifs from elsewhere and blended them

together without much

organic

cohesion, as is the case with the rug in al-Najaf and its mate in the Cathedral of St. Mark. Of considerable historical as well as artistic importance are the two multiple rnihrab, prayer rugs, one unfortunately in fragmentary condition, reproduced in Plates III and IV. The popularly called "family prayer rugs" or saff rugs of Persian origin are very rare,24 and besides these in the Shrine of al-Najaf so far only a few have been published. One, a fragment in the collection of Fr. Figure 10. Scrolling Stems of the Rug Reproduced in Figure 8

Sarre, is a work of the sixteenth century and shows ogee arches and a floriated scroll design of admirable finesse,25 and another recendy made known

was in the art market in Tehran.26 Both of these, because of the arrangement of the niches, are related to the pieces in al-Najaf. floriated stems, small t'cbi motifs, and other details with the design of the rug in Chinili Köshk Museum at Istanbul (Fr. Sarre and F. R. Martin, op. cit., Vol. I, pi. 52), and the rug in the collection of Miss E. T . Brown in Glasgow (Pope, "The Art of Carpet Making," A Survey of Persian Art, pi. 1221). 24 Saff meaning "row" indicates the repetition of mihräb niches. The type is very common in Turkish rug making. The oldest known example is in the Türk ve Islam Asan Miizesi (unpublished). For the late pieces see R. Neugebauer and J. Orendi, Handbuch der orientalischen Teppichkunde, p. 125, fig. 65; and H. Jacoby, Eine Sammlung orientalischer Teppiche, pi. 35.

Fr. Sarre and H. Trenkwald, op. cit., Vol. II, pl. 50, wherein the piece is attributed to the second half of the fifteenth century, while in Sammlung F. u. M. Sarre, Katalog der Ausstellung in Städelscben Kunstinstitut, p. 50, No. 402, it is placed in the sixteenth century. 26 Pope, op. cit., pl. 1171. A small prayer rug with two superimposed niches is in the collection of L. Bernheimer in Munich, Fr. Sarre and F. R. Martin, op. cit., Vol. I, pl. 59. A nineteenth-century prayer rug with six mihräb niches published by J. von Karabacek and attributed by him to the fourteenth century is not considered here. Die persische Nadelmalerei Susandscbird, p. 134. 25

THE

COLLECTION

15

T h e prayer rugs in the Shrine are knotted in wool and richly brocaded with metal threads. T h e grounds of the niches and spandrels are alternately in solid gold and silver^ the former being occupied with variously composed symmetrical scrolls bearing complex lotus palmettes, large gabled arabesques, vine leaves, and cloud bands, while the latter contain arabesque scrolls. 27 T h e borders of both pieces have the same ornamental motifs differently composed, and are enriched with t'cbi

motifs and deeply serrated, curved,

lanceolate leaves. In one of the niches of the triple prayer rug (Plate I I I ) is an oblong cartouche containing, on a background of floriated scrolling stems, a dedicatory inscription in Persian which reads: " D o n a t e d by the dog of this Shrine, 'Abbas." I t is certain that the donor was Shah 'Abbas I , who, as is known from other historical documents, called himself "the dog of 'All Ibn A b i T a l i b " as a token of his devotion to Imam 'All. 28 Related to the prayer rugs in their techniques, materials, colors, and designs are the two fragments (Plates V and V I ) , one of which again contains a dedicatory inscription of Shah 'Abbas I. Both fragments are the borders of two different large rugs, but they have almost identical patterns. 29 A preserved portion of the field of one of these pieces shows an all-over design of interlaced scrolling arabesques and floriated stems with large complex lotus and leaf palmettes and blossoms on a solid gold brocaded ground. It is obvious that the prayer rugs and the two fragments, in spite of their kinship to the so-called " P o l i s h " rugs, stand apart as a group by themselves, distinguished not only by their designs, but also by deep and brilliant colors. This is due, perhaps, to the fact that they were made by special order to be presented to the Shrine of Imam 'All. This seems to be a plausible explanation, supported by dedicatory inscriptions and, furthermore, by the circumstance that so far there is no other piece of the same group among the known 27

The scroll system in various compositions is to be found in some prayer rugs as, for example, the woolen rug in the collection of Mme E. Paravicini in Cairo. An Illustrated Souvenir of the Exhibition

0/ Persian Art, p. 93, No. 521. 28

In an inscription on the portal of the mausoleum of Baba Rukn al-Dln near Isfahan, Shah 'Abbas I is called "Dog of 'All, son of Abu Talib." See A. Godard, "Isfahan," Atfiar-e Iran, I I (1937), 126. In another inscription on the mausoleum of Kwajah Rabl', dated 1031 A.H. (1621 ¡11), he is again called "The dog of the Shrine of Amir alMu'minln" (§anl' al-Dawla, Mafia' al-Shams. II, 274). A letter of Shah 'Abbas I dated 1012 A.H-

(1603) is signed as "The dog of Shah-i Wilavet 'Abbas-i Safawl." See the reproduction in P. M. Sykes, A History of Persia, II, 172. The inscription on the rug is not a chronogram because the sum of the numbers is 1044, which will correspond to 1634/35 and this, if considered as the year of execution of the rug, falls in the reign of Shah Safi, who ruled between 1629 and 1642. 29 All efforts of the writer to locate the other fragments of these rugs were unavailing. The officials of the Shrine could not give any satisfactory information, which seemed to indicate that the rugs in question were in fragmentary condition during at least one generation.

THE

i6

COLLECTION

rugs of the period of Shah 'Abbas I, and none has come to light from the Shrines of Mashhad or Qumm. 30 Isfahan, again, can be suggested as the place of manufacture. W e know from contemporary information that Kashan, in the seventeenth century, was the principal center for production of rugs knotted in silk and brocaded with gold and silver threads, and taspestry-woven rugs.31 None of the pieces definitely recognized as the works of Kashan looms,32 however, has close relationship to the pieces in al-Najaf, either in material, colors, or in the general compositional treatment of design. On the other hand, the statements of another reliable authority specify that among the works produced in the court ateliers in Isfahan were also "Gold and Silver Carpets." 33 Thus, it seems certain that the artists active in this royal atelier were responsible for the rugs in question. VELVETS AND BROCADED

SILKS

T h e velvet and brocaded silk fabrics in the Shrine form a small but impressive group of representative specimens. O f well-known techniques, they display a variety of designs, partly of unrecorded types, some being dated and signed, thus introducing fresh data to the historical and stylistic study of Persian textile art of the Safawid period. An extremely rare piece among the known textiles of the period is represented in the collection by a panel of cut solid red velvet heavily embroidered with gold and polychrome silk threads (Plate V I I ).34 In the general layout of its design the panel is closely connected with some tapestry-woven rugs. T h e central lobed medallion, the oblong cartouches with finials on each end in the longitudinal direction of the field, and the border, occupied by cartouches and octafoils, find their parallels, for example, in the brocaded tapestry in the Staatliche Museen in Berlin, 35 or in another piece in the Textile Museum of the District of 30 The coronation rug in the Rosenborg Castle decorated with very characteristic textile turnover design has a solid gold ground and because of its stylistic features can be linked to the group of alN a j a f rugs. T h e same solid brocaded ground is also to be found in the rug in the collection of Fiirst J. Liechtenstein. 31 T . Mankowski, "Some Documents from Polish Sources Relating to Carpet Making in the T i m e of Shah Abbas I , " A Survey of Persian Art, pp. 2431 ff. For the Jushaqan attribution see A . U. Pope, op. cit., pp. 2392 f. 32 Some of the pieces which were brought from Kashan to the Polish king Sigismund III in the year 1602 are now in the Residenz-Museum at Munich.

See Fr. Sarre and F. R . Martin, op. cit., Vol. I, pis. 55, 60, 61, and 62. For further information, consult Mankowski, loc. cit. 33 J. Tavernier, The Six Voyages of John Tavemier, Baron of Aubonne, p. 223. 34

Baptista

Most of the known velvet panels embroidered

with gold and silver threads are of eighteenthcentury origin. See C . E. C. Tattersall, op. cit., p. 9, fig. 7; P. Ackerman, "Embroidery in Persia," Embroidery,

Vol. I l l

(1934), pi. 5; or, "Some

Typical Exhibits at Burlington House,"

Apollo,

X I I I (1931), 108, pi. 7. 35

Fr. Sarre and H. Trenkwald, op. cit., Vol. II,

pi. 45.

V)

-O u

% ^

jay. m-

» ?

§ i. T 3 •o ÎJ O i

S ' I " O c o u i-, u V T 3 W 4 J s U j> " ¡5 > •S s

rt

O U s s

£

o

I

THE

COLLECTION

17

Columbia in Washington. 34 T h i s relation is extremely obvious also from the figural motifs decorating the panel. Accurately transferred from tapestry rugs, with their stylistic and iconographic features, these motifs belong to the ornamental repertoire of Persian art since pre-Safawid periods, and were employed in almost all branches of decorative arts, including textile and rug making. 37 A few of these should be compared here to establish further relation of the panel to its prototypes. Besides the two tapestry rugs already mentioned, which also display in their central medallions the representation of a fight between a dragon and a phoenix identical to the same motif of the panel, the celebrated tapestry in the Residenz-Museum in Munich 38 offers further parallels to other ornamental subjects. Containing a similar medallion with pendants in the field, and oblong cartouches alternating with quatrefoils surrounded by arabesques in the border, this piece has, among its rich figural designs, winged genii (peri),3* and seated personages wearing täjturbans 40 related in their style to those of the al-Najaf panel. 41 T h u s it is evident that the panel is a work of the late sixteenth century. This attribution is positively supported by a hitherto unpublished coat (Figure 1 1 ) , which, according to the old inventory of the Topkapi Sarayi Müzesi in Istanbul, had been presented in the year 1583 (991 A . H . ) to the Ottoman Sultan Muräd I I I by the father of Shäh 'Abbäs I, Muhammad K h o d ä Bende. 42 T h e coat is of cut solid green velvet decM. Aga-Oglu, op. cit., p. 65, No. 242. A. Sakisian, op. cit., pi. 43, fig. 70, and pi. 44, fig. 73; E. Kühnel, Miniaturmalerei im islamischen Orient, fig. 32; M. Aga-Oglu, Persian Bookbindings of the Fifteenth Century, fig. 10 and pis. 1, 2, 3, and 8; and H. Glück and E. Diez, Die Kunst des Islam, fig. 464. 38 Fr. Sarre and F. R. Martin, op. cit., Vol. I, pi. 61. 39 Cf. also the brocaded velvet in the collection of the late Comtesse de Behague. P. Ackerman, "Persian Textiles of Islamic Period," A Survey of Persian Art, pi. 1018; the border of the magnificent hunting rug in the Museum für Kunst und Industrie. Fr. Sarre and H. Trenkwald, op. cit., Vol. I, pis. 2 and 5, and others. 40 The opinions among the students about the attribution of the miniatures or other objects of decorative arts to early or late Safawid period, based on /¿/'-turban, differs, thus introducing some confusion in the study of the subject. T . W. Arnold in his article "Persian Stuffs with Figure-Subjects," The Burlington Magazine, X X X V I I (1920), 244, 36 37

says: "The elongated slender kulab, or centerpiece, around the base of which the turban is wound is characteristic of the early Safawid period and such evidence as is available seems to point to its being peculiar to the reign of Shah Tahmasp (15241576)," and that " it had certainly gone out of fashion altogether by the reign of Shah Abbas (1586-1629)." It is true that the /¿/-turban was a specific headdress of the period until about the end of the third quarter of the sixteenth century, but it did not disappear completely and was worn until the middle of the seventeenth century. Ewliya Chelebi, who visited Tabriz in the year 1646 and again in 1656, observes that the members of the aristocracy wore red and white turbans wound around a pointed taj (Siyahatname, II, 252). 41 The slight variations in the drawing should be, of course, attributed to the differences in the techniques. 42 For this information the writer is indebted to the kindness of Director Bay Tahsin Oz.

THE

i8

COLLECTION

orated with borders and an ogival medallion of arabesque bands worked in gold and polychrome silk embroidery. The arabesques are enriched with minute floriated stems, and the medallion contains a standing personage. The technical and stylistic relations between the panel of al-Najaf and this coat are obvious, both being works of the same time. In Plate V I I I is reproduced one of three panels of cut, voided velvet, the design consisting of conventional flower sprays arranged in alternate rows on a silver brocaded ground. B y the shifting of position of the sprays in each row and, at the same time, through the curving stems of the sprays, an undulating vertical movement has been produced. Moreover, it should be noted that the upper parts of the sprays extend upward from row to row, thus eliminating the monotonous repetition of the horizontal divisions.43 This compositional system of design is one of the most effective and characteristic of Safawid textile art of which numerous specimens are preserved.44 A cut voided velvet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 45 another of more elaborate design in Kunstgewerbe Museum in Berlin,46 and still another in the Musee du Louvre 47 are examples of this popular type of design. A second panel of cut voided velvet in the Shrine (Plate I X ) presents another favored Persian design, namely, that of the double ogival lattice,48 which was also frequently employed in other fields of decorative arts, particularly in architectural glazed tile decoration.49 Very often one of the interlaced lattices is formed of bands, as is the case with the third velvet panel in the same collection (Plate X ) . This remarkably beautiful piece, richly brocaded with gold and silver threads, shows a design of perfect quality, both 43

The same compositional system is true also for some textiles with figurai design. Consult the observations of A. J . B. VVace, "Some Safawid Silks at Burlington House," The Burlington Magazine, b\Ul ( 1 9 3 0 , 6 7 fr. 44 See p. 21, and Plates 16 and 17. 45 N . A. Reath and E. B. Sachs, Persian Textiles and Their Techniques, p. 132, pi. 91. For the color reproduction, see R. Koechlin and G. Migeon, Cent Planches en couleurs d'art musulman, pl. 75. 16 O. von Falke, Kunstgeschichte der Seidenweberei, fig. 611. The other pieces are in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Brief Guide to the Persian Woven Fabrics, p. 17, pi. 8; in Musée Historique des Tissus in Lyons (R. Cox, Les Soieries d'art, pl. 3 3 ) ; and in the possession of D. J . Kelekian (J. Guiffrey and G. Migeon, op. cit., pl. 75). 47

G. Migeon, Les Collections du Louvre, Vol. II, pl. 91, or the colored reproduction in R. Koechlin

and G. Migeon, op. cit., pl. 76. Other pieces of this velvet are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (N. A. Reath and E . B. Sachs, op. cit., pl. 90); in the Victoria and Albert Museum (P. Ackerman, op. cit., pl. 1064B); in Musée Historique des Tissus (R. Cox, op. cit., pl. 3 3 ) ; in City Art Museum, St. Louis (Handbook of the Collections, p. 175). 48 Ogival lattice design in various forms was used extensively both in Europe and the Far East, and is found in Persia as early as the fourteenth century. O. von Falke, op. cit., pp. 26, 33, and 35, figs. 285, 288, and 293; for Western examples, cf. figs. 205, 2 6 2 , 3 5 3 , and 413. 49

Fr. Sarre, Denkmäler persischer Baukunst, Vol. I, fig. 52. For earlier examples see Godard, "Historique du Masdjid-é Djum'a d'Isfahân," Athàr-é Irän, Vol. I (1936), op. cit., figs. 169 and 171.

THE in drawing and in

colors. 60

COLLECTION

19

Besides common ornamental elements, such as large complex

palmettes and conventional blossoms,of particular interest on this velvet are the pheasantlike birds placed on intersections of stems and bands. This motif, in connection with lattice design, occurs frequently on Persian textiles, and as the best example of this type previously known, we may mention the sixteenth-century brocaded velvet in the M . H . D e Y o u n g Memorial Museum in San Francisco. 51 T o the group of cut voided velvets belongs the panel decorated with alternate rows of standing youths beside conventional flowering sprays on a silver brocaded ground (Plate X I ) . 6 2 T h e piece is a work of the middle seventeenth century and represents the last phase 64 Cf. also double lattice of bands and stems without birds in Metropolitan Museum of Art (N. A . Reath and E. B. Sachs, op. cit., p!. 82); another piece is in the possession of A . Loewi in Venice (P. Ackerman, "Persian Textiles of Islamic Period," A Survey of Persian Art, pi. 1006). 61 M . Aga-Oglu, Exhibition of Islamic Art, p. 60, No. 216, where it has been erroneously attributed to the early seventeenth century. Other pieces of the same velvet are in the possession of Bacri (Fr. Sarre and F. R . Martin, op. cit., Vol. I l l , pi. 209); and in the collection of Besseliere, Paris (E. Flemming, An Encyclopedia of Textiles, pi. 296). 62 T h e presence in the Shrine of textiles decorated with figural motifs (Plates 7, 10, 11, 18, 24, 25, and 26) is an interesting fact conflicting with the generally adopted view that such motifs were excluded from objects in religious institutions. It might be true that these textiles originally were not intended to be presented to the Shrine, but still the attitude of the donors and, above all, the tolerance of the fanatically minded Shi'ah clergy and officials of the Shrine who were equally as uncompromising in their opinions concerning the theological prohibition as were the Sunni priesthood, remain to be explained. For the theological aspects of the question, see T . W . Arnold, Painting in Islam, pp. 2 i¥., wherein the literature on the subject has been discussed. It should be said, however, that the figural motifs were not entirely condemned from religious institutions, either of the ShT'ahs or Sunnis. Consult also E. Kuhnel, " D i e islamische K u n s t , " p. 371. W e encounter in many instances not only rugs and textiles or objects of wood and metal decorated with animal and human figures in

use in mosques, madrasas, and shrines, but also the architecture of these institutions was sometimes adorned with the same motifs. Well-known examples of decorative arts from religious establishments are: two animal rugs, one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the other in the collection of Mrs. John D . Rockefeller, Jr., in New Y o r k , both originally from the Shrine of Shavkh §afi at Ardebil (Fr. Sarre, op. cit., 1,44, and M . S. Dimand, A Handbook of Mohammedan Decorative Arts, p. 246); a wooden door with representation of lions from Ogle Jami' in Ankara in Chinili Köshk M u seum (E. Kiihnel, Die Sammlung türkischer und islamischer Kunst in Tschiniii Köschk, p. 17, pl. 12). As examples of architectural decoration there can be mentioned: a group of animal heads of the Gök Madrassa in Siväs (A. Gabriel, Monuments turcs d'Anatolie, II, 158, pl. 58); a lion attacking a bull in the Great Mosque at Dryärbekir (M. van Berchem and J. Strzygowski, Amida, p. 67, figs. 24 and 25, pi. 16); a dragon on the portal of the mosque at Anau (E. A . KoöpaeoB, IlcTopHiecKoe H KjubTypHoe 3HaieHHe AHay, p. 35, fig. 1 5 ) ; stone sculptures with animal and human figures inserted in the walls of a mosque called " H u n a l l a " in K u b ä t c h i (A. C. BamKupoB,

HCKJCCTBO

ßareciaEa,

pp. 84 ff., pis. 9-13). O f extraordinary interest are the wall paintings representing Shi'ah saints in the Shrine of Imam Zäde Shäh Zaid near Isfahan, A . Godard, "Isfahan," A(här-e Iran, II (1937), 151, fig. 54- Y . A . Godard attributes these paintings to the date of restoration of the mausoleum by Shäh Sulaymän in the year 1685/6 ("L'Imämzäde Zaid d'I§fahan. Un edifice

20

T H E

C O L L E C T I O N

of a tradition which constituted one of the glorious achievements of Persian textile art. 53 T h e most impressive textile item in the collection of the Shrine is, however, the large round cover of Imam's tomb. It is made of several pieces of richly brocaded silks of various designs and sizes. A m o n g these, attention should be called to a cloth patterned with heavy ogival lattice bands (Plates X I I and X I I I ) and inscribed with the name of the weaver, Saifi-i 'Abbasi. 5 4 From the surname 'Abbasi, like that of the famous 'All Rida-i 'Abbasi, who wrote the inscriptions of the mosques in Isfahan and elsewhere, it can be assumed that the artist must have been in the service of Shah ' A b b a s I and probably was active in the court atelier. T h e design of this textile piece, the h e a v y ogival lattice bands, finds its almost identical parallel in the wall decoration of ' A l a Qapi Palace, built by Shah 'Abbas I in Isfahan. 5 5 This fact alone justifies us in placing this work of Saifi-i 'Abbasi within the first two decades of the seventeenth century. While the ogival lattice, with its m a n y compositional varieties, was one of the favored designs of Safawid fabrics, the medallion as the principal ornamental motif was rarely employed, 56 and none has been hitherto known among the preserved pieces. Nevertheless, its existence during the Timurid and S a f a w i d periods is certain, as is evidenced from its representation in miniature paintings. On one of the pages of the Shah Namah

manuscript

from the year i 4 8 6 depicting a scene with Hormuzd and his son, Khosraw Parwiz, a décoré de peintures religieuses musulmans," A(hàr-ê Iran, II (1937), 345). In the opinion of the present writer, the paintings are unmistakably works executed during the nineteenth century. Cf. also A Survey of Persian Art, Vol. V, pi. 553. 53 Because of the very poor state of preservation the lines of the design are severely deformed. 54 See Appendix A for the list of Safawid weavers. 55 J . Daridan and S. Stelling-Michaud, op. cit., pl. 2. 56 The medallion motif in various shapes comes frequently on textiles of the twelfth to the fourteenth century. As examples there can be mentioned a fragment of silk in the Detroit Institute of Arts (A. C. Weibel, "Persian Fabrics," Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts, X V I (1936), 28), and a silk under strong Chinese influence in Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (I- Ashton, "The Persian Exhibition. Textiles, Some Early Pieces," 'The Burlington Magazine, L V I I I (1931 ), 27, pl. 4A). The combination of medallion and lattice design is the most popular and is represented by some out-

standing pieces of the sixteenth century. A small fragment of velvet in Topkapi Sarayi Miizesi shows a lattice of floriated stems enclosing lobed ogival medallions containing Khosraw on horseback and Shirin in a pool (Halil Edhem and G. Migeon, "Les Collections du Vieux Serai à Stamboul," Syria, X I (1930), 99). A beautiful piece was formerly in the collection of the late Mrs. V. E. Macy in New York, also a velvet showing lobed medallions with two personages and extremely effective lattice composed of stems bearing palmettes with lion masks, spotted snakes, complex lanceolate leaves, and blossoms (N. A. Reath and E . B. Sachs, op. cit., p. 122, pi. 80); another fragment of the same velvet is in Musée Historique des Tissus (R. Cox, op. cit., pl. 5); a third large piece in the possession of D. G. Kelekian. It is interesting to note that a court lady in the scene of .Khosraw and Shïrïn in the famous manuscript of Nizâmï's Kbamsab of the year 1543 in the British Museum has a dress patterned with gold lattice containing ogival medallions. L. Binyon, The Poems of Nizami, pi. 10.

THE

COLLECTION

nobleman standing beside the seated king is dressed in a long cloak patterned with lobed ogival medallions containing, appare n d y , floral and fcbi

motifs. 57 T h e same

design appears again on a short-sleeved overcoat of a lady in the early sixteenthcentury miniature, painted by Mahmud Muzahhib, representing "three damsels of China." 5 8 Fortunately, the collection in the Shrine contains two specimens of this rare type. T h e piece reproduced in Plate X I V is, perhaps, one of the finest brocaded silks of the early seventeenth century and shows lobed ogival medal-

Figure 12. Design of the Brocaded Silk

lions enriched with minute undulating

Reproduced in Plate X I V

arabesques

and

enclosing

conventional

flowers in symmetrical arrangement. T h e drawing is of perfect workmanship (Figure 1 2 ) . T h e medallions are openly spaced in rows, so that the ground of the fabric is prominent, being occupied by delicate floriated scrolling stems, but in such a manner that the decorative effect produced by the medallions is not deteriorated. 59 N o less representative is the second piece (Plate X V ) . Here, the medallions, framed by flame motifs and slightly depressed on their upper parts, are placed closely to each other. T h e complex palmettes, flanked by floriated stems and attached to the tops of the medallions, reduce to a certain degree their function, so vigorously expressed in the preceding piece. A far more common design, as has been already observed, 60 is further represented among the textiles in the Shrine by two gold and silver brocaded cloths (Plates X V I and X V I I ) . T h e decoration of these consists of conventional flower sprays arranged in alternate rows. T h e sprays, with their elegandy curved stems springing from the edges of the rocks, produce a vertical undulating movement which, in harmonious coordination with 67

British Museum, Add. 18.188. For the reproduction, see E . Blochet, Musulman Painting, pi. 100. 58 L . Binyon, J . V . S. Wilkinson, and B. Gray, op. cit., p. 122, pi. 7 6 A . 1 0 4 ( a ) . Cf. also the design of the dress of the prisoner on the famous figural satin, the pieces of which are in the Museum of Oriental Cultures in Moscow (P. Ackerman, op.

cit., pi. 1 0 1 4 B ) , and in the possession of D. G. Kelekian (J. Guiffrey and G. Migeon, op. cit., pi. 26). 69 On a piece in the possession of D. G. Kelekian similar medallions with palmettes and floral design are placed so closely to each other that the ground appears like lattice, op. cit., pi. 3 1 . 60 See above, p. 18, and Plate V I I I .

22

THE

COLLECTION

the horizontal register, displays how perfectly the designers understood and solved the problems of surface decoration, an understanding which the Persian artists should be credited with from the very beginning of their history. Of special art historical significance are the two dated silk brocaded hangings. One of these, reproduced in Plate X V I I I , was, according to an inscription,61 made in the year 1626 for Muhammad 'All, who called himself "the slave of Shah-i Wilayet's Shrine." 62 The donor was, as is evidenced by another inscription on one of five small fragments of a second identical hanging in the Shrine, an officer in the service of Shah 'Abbas I. The hanging has a signatory inscription of the weaver, whose first name, unfortunately, remains unknown, but whose father's name was Mawlana Qutb al-DIn.63 Still another inscription gives the name of Mu'izz al-Din from Shushtar. who executed the cartoon for the Qu'ranic inscriptions of the borders. As a dated document comprising in its design several very characteristic ornamental motifs, the hanging may guide us to establish the period of a number of textiles. First, it should be noted that the design, as is the case in such compositionally unified panels, is in strictly turnover system. The conventional trees and flower sprays, together with the vase and ogival medallion, are arranged in horizontal registers, maintaining, however, the general uniformity by the extension of parts of individual motifs from one section to another. Characteristic for most Safawid hangings, it shows a mihrab niche, exemplified by such outstanding pieces as the brocaded silk hanging by Ghiyath in the Shrine of Shaykh Safi at Ardebil,64 or that woven by Mughlth. now in the Victoria and Albert Museum.65 The principal decoration of this hanging consists of symmetrically drawn conventional trees, the curving stems of which bear large and small complex lotus and leaf palmettes, multipetaled flowers, and deeply serrated leaves. Stylistically related are the same motifs attached to the stems growing from the vase of the Ibn Qutb al-Din hanging. Furthermore, both pieces have in common the lobed arch, which, in the latter, is formed by curved serrated leaves. These, again, are framing the ogival compartments of the hanging by Mughlth. One of the most typical ornamental motifs on the Ibn Qutb al-Din hanging is the sweeping serrated lanceolate leaf partially covering a palmette or blossoms, to which are 61

See Appendix B for the list of dated Safawid

textiles. 62

^CiS

al-Din. , " t h e King of Holiness," is one of the

titles of Imam 'All. See CI. Huart's article, " 'All b. A b l T a l i b " in Enzyklopaedie 63

In

Jslamica,

erroneously as Q u f b al-DIn instead of Ibn Qutb

a preliminary

report

des Islam, published

I , 298. in

Ars

I I , 1 3 5 , the name of the artist was given

64

66

P. Ackerman, op. cit., pi. 1038.

Brief Guide to the Persian Woven Fabrics, p. 15,

pi. 1. C f . P. Ackerman, op. cit., p. 2 1 2 9 . For other identical pieces, see Appendix A .

THE

COLLECTION

2

3

attached two, sometimes more, smaller curved leaves. This bouquet-like ornament is known from some line drawings and also frequently occurs on rugs, glazed tile decoration, and book illuminations of the period from approximately the middle of the sixteenth until about the end of the seventeenth century. 66 One of the best late sixteenth-century examples showing this motif is the velvet in the Victoria and Albert Museum, 67 while the satin with a musical scene by 'Abd-Allah is one of many examples of the following century. 68 Still another motif here deserves brief consideration, namely, the multipetaled flowers of the large sprays on both sides of the medallion. O f conventionalized form, they consist of three or more superimposed, variously shaped rings of petals. A t first it might seem that these particular flowers are to be found in almost all Persian textile designs, but patient observation will reveal their presence on only certain pieces which are otherwise related to the ornamental motifs of the Ibn Q u t b al-DIn hanging. Among many examples, a silk cloth with floral decoration in the National Museum at Tihran, the tomb cover by Ghiyath in the Shrine at Ardebil, 69 the satin with Laila and Majnun by the same artist in the possession of D . G . Kelekian, 7 0 or the cut voided satin velvet with flower sprays in the Metropolitan Museum of Art 7 1 can be mentioned, all belonging to the period around 1626.

All other motifs comprising the design of the hanging are too well known to be discussed here in detail. T h e blossoming tree with a perched pheasant-like bird, the pool with fish and swimming ducks, the herons flying among cloud bands, and the vase placed on a bracket were extensively employed in all branches of Persian decorative arts. 72 66 K. Blauensteiner, "Beispiele osmanischer Buchkunst aus der Zeit Sultan Selim II. und Sultan Murad III.," p. 45, fig. 48. Another drawing attributed to Turkey, but presumably of Persian origin, is in the collection of Ch. Ricketts in London and has the same motif. See E. Kühnel, Miniaturmalerei, fig. 98. Cf. also A. Sakisian, op. cit., p. 125, pi. 91, fig. 162. For the examples of the seventeenth century, see lacquered binding in Fr. Sarre, Islamische Bucheinbände, pi. 33. The motif appears to have survived in a degenerated form until the nineteenth century as evidenced by a bookbinding dated 1832 {ibid., pi. 35). It is characteristic also for the rug designs of the period. Cf. W. von Bode and E. Kühnel, op. cit., fig. 34; A. U. Pope, op. cit., pi. 1235; and A. F. Kendrick and C. E. C. Tattersall, op. cit., pi. 4. 67 Brief Guide to the Persian Woven Fabrics, p. 17, pi. 7.

Cf. P. Ackerman, op. cit., pi. 1044B. Ibid., pis. 1007A and 1036. 70 N. A. Reath and E. B. Sachs, op. cit., pi. 74. 71 Ibid., pi. 90. 72 The wall paintings in 'Ala Qapi incorporate most of these motifs. See J. Daridan et S. StellingMichaud, op. cit., pis. 2, 4, 5, and 8. The blossoming tree with perched pheasant-like bird, known also during the Timürid period, was a Far Eastern importation. M. Aga-Oglu, Persian Bookbindings, pi. 2. For a Chinese example, see E. Zimmerman, Altchinesische Porzellane im alten Seray, pl. 23. The Safawid examples are numerous. For book illuminations see L. Binyon, The Poems of Nizami, pl. 14; for bookbindings, E. Gratzl, Islamische Bucheinbände des 14. bis ig. "Jahrhunderts, pl. 19; for rugs and tapestries, Fr. Sarre and H. Trenkwald, op. cit., Vol. II, pis. 12, 16, and others. 68

69

24

T H E

C O L L E C T I O N

Attention should be called to a striking peculiarity of the Ibn Q u t b al-Din hanging. T h e Qu'ranic inscription of the left main border is repeated in reverse on the right border. T h i s somewhat unusual arrangement is by no means a fault of the weaver, since the inscription of the outer border strips are in normal position on both sides. I t is reversed purposely to produce a turnover symmetry corresponding to the compositional system of the field.73 T h e second brocaded hanging (Plate X I X ) is another dated piece in the collection. M a d e in 1 7 1 6 , exactly ninety years later than the Ibn Q u t b al-Din hanging, the floral motifs of its design show a naturalistic rendering of the forms. T h e irises, the

five-petaled

poppy with the scrolling stems in the spandrels of the niche, and the individual sprays of poppies and lilies in the middle section are drawn with the definite intention of depicting their botanical likenesses, thus clearly constituting a new style, fundamentally different from the style of the textiles so far discussed. T h i s naturalistic style was already fully developed toward the beginning of the eighteenth century, but its gradual formulation can be traced back approximately four decades. W i t h o u t going into lengthy discussion, one m a y observe, for example, the floral motifs of silk rugs from the year 1 6 7 1 in the mausoleum of Shah ' A b b a s I I at Qumm. 7 4 In spite of the great beauty of these rugs, their designs, consisting of trees and various flower sprays, display symptoms of a tendency The motif of a pool with fish or duck in connection with textile design is a direct inspiration from miniature painting. It occurs also in earlier periods, fl. H. CMHPHOB, BocttraHoe cepe6po, pis. 21 and 114. The herons flying amid cloud bands is again an adaptation from Chinese art (E. Zimmerman, op. cit., pi. 44). For the §afawid examples, see G. Migeon, Manuel d'art musulman, Vol. I, figs. 44 and 45; E . Kiihnel, Miniaturmalerei, fig. 72; M . S. Dimand, Handbook, fig. 83; Fr. Sarre and H. Trenkwald, op. cit., Vol. II, pis. 23, 27, and 46. The Ibn Qufb al-Din hanging is the only known textile with this motif. The vase on a bracket is common in rug designs, especially rugs so designated. See Fr. Sarre and H. Trenkwald, op. cit., Vol. II, pis. 6 and 16, and Vol. H I , P l. 23For textiles bearing some of these motifs, see Fr. Sarre and F. R . Martin, op. cit., Vol. I l l , pis. 194, 196, and 199; N. A. Reath and E. B. Sachs, op. cit., pis. 73 and 83, and others.

73

Generally the inscriptions in borders are designed in normal position with the bases of the letters directed toward the inner field. Sometimes, however, on one side the bases, or on the opposite side the tops of the letters are directed toward the inner field; again, on other pieces the tops of the letters on either side are directed toward the inner field. Cf. the hanging reproduced in An Illustrated Souvenir of the Exhibition of Persian Art, pp. 76 and 78. 74 A. U. Pope, op. cit., pis. 1258-60. In some instances this tendency can be traced to even the beginning of the century. Cf. the floral motif of a lacquered chest made for Shäh 'Abbäs I and dated 1609 (E. Kühnel, "Die Lacktruhe Shah 'Abbas I. in der Islamischen Abteilung der Staatlichen Museen," "Jahrbuch der Preuszischen Kunstsammlungen, Vol. L V I I I (1937), fig. 2). The observation of the author that the artist of the chest "kramphaft bemüht, bei seinen Bildaufgaben im Rahmen der alleren Überlieferungen zu bleiben" (p. 56), is true also for the floral ornaments.

T H E

C O L L E C T I O N

t o w a r d n a t u r a l i s m , a n d a d e f i n i t e b r e a k from c e n t u r i e s - l o n g

25 traditions. 7 6

A

painted

l a c q u e r e d p a n e l in t h e c o l l e c t i o n o f F r . S a r r e , r e p r e s e n t i n g a g a r d e n scene, is one o f t h e best e x a m p l e s s h o w i n g , p e r h a p s u n d e r W e s t e r n influences, the results o f this t e n d e n c y . T h e s p r a y s o f irises, p o p p i e s , roses, a n d o t h e r flowers in the f o r e g r o u n d o f the c o m p o s i t i o n a n d t h e trees in t h e b a c k g r o u n d a r e p a i n t e d w i t h their n a t u r a l i s t i c features. 7 6 S i n c e t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y this n a t u r a l i s m has been t h e l e a d i n g s t y l e in t h e t e x t i l e a r t o f P e r s i a , a s is d o c u m e n t e d b y t h e h a n g i n g u n d e r discussion. 7 7 A n o t h e r e x a m p l e o f this t y p e o f design is r e p r e s e n t e d in the Shrine b y a p a n e l o f b r o c a d e d silk ( P l a t e X X ) , w i t h a s i m p l e d e c o r a t i o n c o n s i s t i n g o f small p o p p y s p r a y s a r r a n g e d in s p a c e d a l t e r n a t e r o w s . B e l o n g i n g t o a p e r i o d a r o u n d 1700, its p a r t i c u l a r m o t i f seems t o h a v e been in u s e s i n c e a p p r o x i m a t e l y t h e m i d d l e o f t h e s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r y , a f a c t w h i c h 75 The art of the well-known Shafi'-i 'Abbäsi, son of the famous Ridä-i 'Abbäsi, who left a number of naturalistically painted flowers, animals, and birds, is under strong Indian Mughal inspiration. Cf. P. Brown, Indian Painting under the Mughals, p. 86 and pi. 22, fig. 2. He was active in India and died in 1674/5 in Agra. Fr. Sarre and E. Mittwoch, Zeichnungen von Riza Abbasi, p. 13; E. Kühnel, Miniaturmalerei, pp. 37 and 47, fig. 136; L. Binyon, J. V. S. Wilkinson, and B. Gray, op. cit., p. 157.

E. Blochet in Musulman Painting reproduces in Plate 167 a goldfinch on a stalk of narcissus signed by Shafi'-i 'Abbäsi and dated Ramadan 8, 1063 A.H. (August 1, 1653), with the misleading interpretation of the inscription that the painting was made "to the order of Shah Abbas II, the King of Persia, for the King's private collection, and was finished at Ispahan." The inscription, however, does not mention Shäh 'Abbäs or his order or the city of I§fahän. A similar inscription occurs on an ink drawing of a flower, dated 1065 A.H. (1655), which is believed to have been made as a cartoon for a textile pattern, to which, however, the inscription does not refer. See P. Ackerman, op. cit., p. 2131, pi. 1056C. For further information about Shafi'-i 'Abbäsi, see Ph. W. Schulz, Die persisch-islamische Miniaturmalerei, I, 194 f. and 203. 76 Fr. Sarre, Islamische Bucheinbände, pi. 31. The panel is attributed by the author to the middle of the seventeenth century, but the tree behind the youth seated on a rug is painted in a European manner which we find in miniatures of Muljammad Zamän from the year 1675/6. See T . W . Arnold, Painting in Islam, p. 149, pi. 5. This stylistic re-

semblance permits assignment of the panel to the end of the century. 77 In this connection we are inclined to attribute the well-known group of brocaded silks decorated with rows of rose bushes with perched or flying birds (sometimes a small animal under the bush) to the eighteenth century. A comparison can be made of the design of these fabrics to the naturalistic ornaments of the glazed-tile panels of Madrasa-i Khän in Shlrâz, built during the government of Karim Khän Zand (1750-1779). The peculiar representation of the ground from which the flowers are growing, the multipetaled roses, and the birds of these tile decorations show very close relation in drawing and in general stylistic rendering to those of the fabrics. Consult the pertinent observation of Fr. Sarre, Denkmäler persischer Baukunst, I, 94, and cf. pis. 76 and 77. F. R. Martin assigned a piece of this type of brocaded silk to as late as even the end of the eighteenth century (Morgenländische Stoffe, p. 9, pl. 12). Of the recent writers, only A. F. Kendrick gives the period proposed here as the time of origin of these textiles ("The Persian Exhibition. Textiles, A General Survey," The Burlington Magazine, LVIII (1931)» 21, pl. 2D). For the early seventeenth-century attributions, see J. Guiffrey and G. Migeon, op. cit., pl. 65; A. U. Pope, An Introduction to Persian Art, fig. 72; P. Ackerman, "The Gold Brocades of Isfahan," Apollo, X I V (1931), 13 f.; also "Some Problems of Seljuq and Safavid Textiles," III' Congrès international d'art et d'archéologie. Mémoires. Leningrad, Septembre /çjS, p. 4; N. A. Reath and E. B. Sachs, op. cit., pis. 8, 22, and 57.

26

THE

COLLECTION is confirmed by a document of historical significance. This is the famous Indian Mughal miniature in the Bodleian Library, representing the reception of Budaq Beg, the ambassador of Shah 'Abbas II to Aurangzib, in the year 1661. The ambassador in this picture, standing in front of a group of Indian dignitaries and saluting the great Mughal with raised arm, is dressed in a robe patterned with spaced rows of naturalistically drawn poppy sprays 13). 78

(Figure

Owing to the fact that the painters of the

Mughal court were exceptionally concerned with the truthful representation of the details of their subject matter, especially of durbar scenes, there is no reason to consider the pattern of the ambassador's robe as imaginative and not corresponding to the actual textile design. Moreover, there are some late seventeenth-century

Persian miniatures on

which we encounter naturalistically drawn flowers in spaced row composition, confirming the observation made above. A single-page miniature in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, representing a seated youth (Figure 14), is one of the best examples showing the floral pattern of the overcoat in this particular spaced arrangement. Thus, as already denoted, we gain an approximFigure 13. Detail from the Miniature Representing the Reception of the Persian Embassy by Aurangzib Mughal,

late seventeenth century

ate span of time to which can be attributed a number of known textiles with similar naturalistic flower motifs. Among these are, for example, the famous panel in Oruzheynaya Palata at Moscow, decorated with St. Mark lions surrounded by flower

sprays among which the poppy takes a dominant place, 79 or the dalmatic of brocaded silk in Victoria and Albert Museum. 80 78 L. Binyon and T . W . A r n o l d , The Court Painters of the Grand Moguls, p. 86, p). 36. 79 Fr. Sarre and F. R . Martin, op. cit., Vol. I l l , pi. 204.

80 Brief Guide to the Persian Woven Fabrics, p. 20, pi. 16.

Figure 14. Seated Youth Persian. Late seventeenth century. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

THE

COLLECTION

27

T h e panel with poppy sprays (Plate X X ) presents, likewise, a compositional treatment of the design in spaced rows which seems to be a characteristic of late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century textiles. It is interesting to observe that this system has been commonly employed in Indian textiles since earlier times. T h e examples of Indian fabrics decorated with small blossoms in spaced rows are numerous, both in their representation in miniature paintings 81 and in preserved originals. W e may refer to the seventeenthcentury cotton robe and coat in the Metropolitan Museum of Art 8 2 decorated in various techniques and designs used in Hindu looms since pre-Mughal periods. 83 There is no doubt that the Indian Mughal textiles were, during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, subjected to strong Persian influences, but it should be admitted that these influences did not affect the native traditions which were of formative importance upon the development of designs both of textiles and rugs. It is possible that, through the medium of Mughal art, this particular compositional system of spaced rows of naturalistic flowers might have inspired the Persian weavers. Whether the origin of this is Indian or Persian, it nevertheless forms a stylistic peculiarity of a great number of Safawid textiles, some still of the late seventeenth, but most belonging to the eighteenth century. Among the outstanding examples of this type are the brocaded compound twill with rows of iris sprays in the Textile Museum of the District of Columbia, 84 and a brocaded cover in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. 85 O f the two remaining textile pieces of the eighteenth century in the collection of the Shrine, one (Plate X X I ) has a design of an ogival lattice formed of curved serrated leaves containing sprays of naturalistically drawn flowers.86 T h e borders of this panel are of a well-known type of brocaded silk trimming band decorated with undulating stems bearing irises and simple roses. T h e other (Plate X X I I ) has a design of hitherto unrecorded type, seemingly imitating a European (French?) prototype. TAPESTRY AND

EMBROIDERIES

T h e collection of the Shrine also includes one fragmentary silk tapestry and several silk embroidered covers, only five pieces 87 of which areof sufficient interest to be published here. L. Binyon and T . W. Arnold, op. cit., pis. 15 and 22; E. Kühnel, Indische Miniaturen, figs. 13, 32, and 48. 82 M. S. Dimand, A Guide to an Exhibition of Oriental Rugs and Textiles, p. 34, figs. 28 and 29. 83 Consult A. K. Coomaraswamy, The Arts and Crafts of India and Ceylon, pp. 193-209 and 246-52. 84 N. A. Reath and E. B. Sachs, op. cit., p. 108, pi. 60; cf. also pis. 7, 13, and 56. 81

Brief Guide to the Persian Woven Fabrics, p. 18, pi. 9. For further examples see R. M. Riefstahl, Persian and Indian Textiles, pis. 5, No. 19; 10, No. 38; 17, No. 82; and others. 83

86

Cf. a brocaded textile in the Museum of Fine

Arts in Boston, ibid., pi. 3, No. 5. 87

A gold-embroidered velvet panel has already

been discussed above, p. 16; Plate VII.

28

THE

COLLECTION

Related in its technique, as well as in its soft pastel colors, to the well-known group of tapestry-woven rugs, the cover reproduced in Plate X X I I I was originally made of four separate pieces to be sewed together so as to form a panel, only two sections of which are preserved. T h e cover is decorated with stylized flowers and palmettes in a composition quite different, however, from those of tapestry rugs of the seventeenth century. T h e embroideries, all worked in darning stitch, present a wide variety of designs. Besides stylized plant, arabesque, and geometrical motifs, they show some figural subject matter otherwise known from earlier or contemporary woven fabrics. 88 Particularly effective is the cover decorated with the repeated figure of a youthful horseman holding a falcon (Plate X X I V ) . This motif, in its iconographic form, is a wellknown subject originated by the miniature painters of the sixteenth century. 8 9 A n almost similar falconer decorates the beautiful red satin embroidered with silk and gold threads in the Victoria and Albert Museum, 90 the borders of which also have the same compartments divided by narrow bands. 91 It is apparent from the stylistic and iconographic features that the al-Najaf cover is a work, if not of the late sixteenth, then certainly of the early seventeenth century. It should be noted, however, that the general layout of the design and especially of the borders is not so successful as one might expect. T h i s shortcoming must be attributed to the fact that the cover is not a product of a professional needleworker, but the work of the haram. T h e same is true of another cover (Plate X X V ) with the design arranged in stripes containing medallions,cartouches enclosing inscriptions, palmettes, floral motifs, and a pictorial subject, namely, the scene of Khosraw discovering Shlrln. Popularized by the miniature painters, this romantic episode was widely employed to decorate velvets, satins, and sometimes rugs as well. 92 T h e scene on the cover is treated 88 For various techniques of Persian embroideries, consult L. Ash ton, Brief Guide to the Persian Embroideries; L. F. Pesel, Stitches from Eastern Embroideries; P. Ackerman, "Embroidery in Persia," Embroidery, Vol. I l l (1934); and A. J. B. Wace, Mediterranean and Near Eastern Embroideries. 89 L . Binyon, The Poems of Nizami, pi. 4, the horseman behind a rocky hill; G. Migeon, Manuel d'art musulman, Vol. I, fig. 62; and G. Marteau et H. Vever, op. cit., pl. 99. For earlier examples see R . M . Riefstahl, The Parish-Watson Collection of Mohammedan Potteries, figs. 24 and 42; G. W'iet, "Tissu musulman en soie représentant un fauconnier à cheval," Compte-Rendus de r Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (1936), p. 212; and H. H. BecejioBCKifl, TepaTCKifl ôpoHaoBufi KarejiOKi.

H3* coopafliH A. A. BoöpHHCKaro, pi. 5. Cf. also the motif on the rug in the collection of the Duke of Buccleuch, K . Erdmann, " T a p p e d Persiani," Dedalo, X I I (1932), 716. F. R . Martin in Figurale persische Stoffe, p. 15, fig. 20, attributed this cover to the end of the seventeenth century. It should, however, be considered as a work of the preceding century, as suggested by 90

E. Kühnel in " D i e islamische Kunst," p. 504, fig. 53591 A somewhat similar division of borders has also an embroidered cover with figural design in the collection of C. Helfferich in Berlin (Fr. Sarre and F. R. Martin, op. cit., Vol. I l l , pi. 208). 92 The scene occurs on a velvet fragment in Topkapi Serayi Miizesi (Halil Edhem and G . Migeon, op. cit., p. 99); on a silk in the estate of

THE

COLLECTION

29

in abbreviated form. ShTrin's horse and other iconographically prescribed details such as her dress, usually placed on a branch of a tree or on a rock, are omitted.93 This, however, does not necessarily indicate the late origin of the piece, which, undoubtedly, because of the style of the entire design, must be a contemporary work of the preceding cover. Standing personages on a background design of scrolling floriated stems, large tuliplike flowers containing peacocks, complex palmettes surrounded by pheasants and lions decorate in stripes the third embroidered cover in the Shrine (Plate X X V I ) . From a technical point of view this piece is of better workmanship than that with the Khosraw and Shlrin scene. The two covers reproduced in Plates X X V I I and X X V I I I are of a more common type. They show stylized floral and geometrical patterns, very characteristic for a large number of embroideries of the eighteenth century. 94 L. P. Bliss (N. A. Reath and E. B. Sachs, op. cit., p. 93, pi. 40); on another velvet piece by Ghlyäth (H. J. Schmidt, op. cit., figs. 175 and 176). Cf. also A. F. Kendrick and T . W . Arnold, op. cit., p. 237. The motif is known on only one rug, namely, on the piece in Musée des arts décoratifs (A. von Scala, W . von Bode, and Fr. Sarre, Altorientalische Teppiche, pl. 15). 93 About the iconography of this romantic episode, consult Fr. Taeschner, "Zur Ikonographie der persischen Bilderhandschriften," 'Jahrbuch der asiatischen Kunst, II (1925), 134. 94 The embroideries with geometrical and angular floral or arabesque patterns are attributed by some authorities to the seventeenth and by others to the eighteenth century. See L. Ashton, op. cit., p. 18, pi. 6; A. F. Kendrick, op. cit., p. 21, pi. 3 D ; and P. Ackerman, op. cit., pl. 2. Besides the examples of Safawid embroideries referred to in the footnotes of previous pages, the

following can be mentioned as more or less related to the al-Najaf pieces: the cover in the National Museum in Stockholm (F. R. Martin, Figurale persische Stoffe, fig. 19); covers in the Victoria and Albert Museum (L. Ashton, op. cit., pp. 17 and 18, pis. 1 and 10); another cover in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (M. S. Dimand, A Handbook oj Mohammedan Decorative Arts, p. 220, fig. 135); and still another one in the collection of Prince Kemäl al-Dln in Cairo (G. Wiet, Exposition d'arl persane, p. 4, No. T-22, Album, pi. 11); Ausstellung der Meisterwerken muhammedanischer Kunst. Amtlicher Katalog, Nos. 2368, 2376 and 2381; also the robe, embroidered with figural design, in Österreichisches Museum für Kunst und Industrie in Vienna (Fr. Sarre and F. R. Martin, op. cit., Vol. I l l , pi. 207, or H. Glück and E. Diez, Die Kunst des Islam, p. 24, also E. Kühnel, "Islamische Kunstgewerbe," Geschichte des Kunstgewerbes, IV, 419).

Description of Plates I. R U G K N O T T E D I N S I L K A N D B R O C A D E D W I T H G O L D A N D S I L V E R (detail, lower left portion) I§FAHAN, E A R L Y

SEVENTEENTH

CENTURY

Two pieces, each of which measures 1,403 cm. by 478 cm.

The field of the rug is decorated with an allover pattern of large arabesque bands and scrolling floriated stems on a crimson ground. The arabesque bands, brocaded in gold, contain delicate stems with minute conventional blossoms. The large palmette-like shields, symmetrically placed on coalescing points of arabesque bands, are in silver and enclose complex lotus palmettes and arabesque devices. The background design is of fine scrolls bearing blossoms, lanceolate leaves, complex flowers, lotus and leaf palmettes of dark yellow, dark blue, green, white, and other colors. The border is in three parts. The outer border-strip is of salmon color and contains small palmettes and blossoms; the inner border-strip has undulating floriated stems on a light red ground. The main border is light blue, decorated with large complex palmettes, arabesques, and lanceolate leaves attached to stems. Each of the two pieces has a border on only three sides, so that by placing the rugs next to each other they form a unit, bordered on all sides and measuring 1,403 cm. by 956 cm. The state of preservation is excellent.

II. R U G K N O T T E D A N D W O V E N I N S I L K A N D B R O C A D E D W I T H G O L D A N D S I L V E R (detail, lower portion) ISFAHAN, E A R L Y

SEVENTEENTH

CENTURY

The rug measures 612 cm. by 275 cm.

The field of the rug is decorated with scroll bands bearing rosettes, complex lotus and leaf palmettes, blossoms, lobed ogival medallions, short floriated stems, and ending in lanceolate leaves. Detached blossoms and small t'cbi motifs fill the space between the principal design. The brown background is woven, the scroll bands are brocaded in

DESCRIPTION

OF

PLATES

31

silver, and the ornamental motifs are executed in knot technique. The colors of the design are light green, light and dark blues, cherry red, salmon, black, yellow, and white. The border is in three parts. The outer and inner border-strips contain undulating floriated stems on white and salmon-colored woven grounds. The main border has a darkblue knotted ground, on which there are interlaced undulating stems bearing large arabesques, complex leaf palmettes partly brocaded in gold, and a background pattern of scrolling floriated stems. The state of preservation is excellent. III. RUG KNOTTED IN WOOL AND BROCADED WITH GOLD AND SILVER I§FAHAN, EARLY SEVENTEENTH CENTURY '.the rug measures 298 cm. by 180 cm.

The field of the rug is divided into three framed mihrab niches with trefoiled ogee arches. The grounds of the two side niches are brocaded in gold and the spandrels in silver. The ground of the middle niche is in silver, while the spandrels are in gold. The decorations consist of symmetrically composed scrolling stems with arabesques, complex palmettes, and conventional blossoms in red, blue, green, white, and black. The middle niche has an additional motif of cloud bands. The decoration of the spandrels consists of scrolling arabesques. The border is in two parts. The outer border-strip has an undulating stem with leaves and blossoms. The main border, on a gold-brocaded ground, has an interlaced undulating stem with conventional blossoms, complex palmettes, and serrated leaves. In the lower part of the niche, on the right hand, is an oblong cartouche containing a scroll design, and the following dedicatory inscription in Persian:

jt-T ¿>1 J S

¿03

("Donated by the dog of this Shrine, 'Abbas"). The donor was Shah 'Abbas I (1587-1628) of the Safawid dynasty. The state of preservation is excellent. IV. RUG KNOTTED IN WOOL AND BROCADED IN GOLD AND SILVER (detail)

ISFAHAN, EARLY SEVENTEENTH CENTURY The fragment measures 618 cm. by 190 cm.

The fragment shows a portion of the inner field with six and one-half mihrab niches. The border, preserved on one side only, is of three parts. The techniques and the colors are the same as those of the rug reproduced in Plate III. The decoration, of identical compositional treatment, is considerably more elaborate and richer. The inner border-strip, which is omitted from the rug with the dedicatory inscription, is here decorated with undulating

32

DESCRIPTION

OF

PLATES

arabesques, interlaced with stems bearing complex palmettes. T h e mihrdb niches show additional fcbi motifs, and the main border, besides large complex lotus and leaf palmettes, has arabesque palmettes. T h e state of preservation of the fragment is excellent.

V. BORDER OF A RUG K N O T T E D IN WOOL A N D BROCADED W I T H

GOLD

AND S I L V E R {detail) ISFAHAN, E A R L Y S E V E N T E E N T H C E N T U R Y The fragment measures 632 cm. by 9/ cm. The border is in four parts, the grounds of which are brocaded alternately in silver and gold. T h e decoration consists of interlaced undulating stems and arabesques bearing curved lanceolate leaves, complex lotus and arabesque palmettes, conventional flowers, and vine leaves. T h e dedicatory inscription in the oblong cartouche is in Persian and reads: u-^f- o^-T ¿»J of

¿¿J

>Jij ("Donated by the dog of this Shrine, 'Abbas"). T h e

donor was Shah 'Abbas I (1587-1628) of the Safawid dynasty. T h e width of the border indicates that it belonged to a rug of large size. T h e state of preservation of the fragment is excellent.

VI. RUG KNOTTED IN WOOL AND B R O C A D E D WITH GOLD A N D

SILVER

{detail) I§FAHAN, E A R L Y S E V E N T E E N T H C E N T U R Y 'The fragment measures j/o cm. by ijo cm. T h e preserved portion of the field is decorated with scrolling arabesques and floral stems bearing complex lotus and leaf palmettes, blossoms, and small serrated leaves on a goldbrocaded ground. T h e border is almost identical in its design, technique, and colors to the fragment of the border reproduced in Plate V . T h e principal colors are red, salmon, dark and light blues, green, black, and white. T h e width of the border, 91 cm., indicates that it belonged to a rug of large size. T h e state of preservation of the fragment is excellent.

DESCRIPTION

OF P L A T E S

33

VII. P A N E L OF V E L V E T EMBROIDERED WITH GOLD AND SILK LATE SIXTEENTH CENTURY The panel measures 160 cm. by 106 cm.

Dark-red cut solid velvet, decorated with gold and polychrome silk embroidery in couching technique. The lobed ogival medallion of interlaced arabesques encloses a shield with the representation of a fight amid flowers between a dragon and a phoenix. The two oblong cartouches attached to the medallion in the longitudinal direction have arabesques and small shields containing a seated winged peri. The four similar cartouches enclose either a youthful horseman holding a falcon, or two kilins. The decoration of the two finials consists of two youths standing among blossoming shrubs, one of them holding a bottle and a cup. There are four more small arabesque medallions, one in each corner of the field. The border is in three parts. The outer and inner border-strips have a geometrical pattern, and the main border is composed of arabesques surrounding oblong cartouches and octofoils, each enclosing one of the following figural motifs: a fight between a dragon and a kilin; two fighting kilins; two phoenixes in mid-air; four seated youths among flowering shrubs; two flying peri; a musical scene of three personages with /¿/-turbans; two foxes playing; and a seated winged peri. The arabesques of both the border and the central medallion are enriched with floriated stems and birds. The state of preservation is excellent. VIII. PANEL OF BROCADED V E L V E T {detail) L A T E S I X T E E N T H OR E A R L Y S E V E N T E E N T H C E N T U R Y The panel measures 114. cm. by 88 cm.

Cut voided velvet, brocaded. The design consists of conventional flower sprays in alternate rows on a silver ground. The lotus palmettes are enriched with gold threads. The colors of the design are blue, orange, green, white, and black. The state of preservation is excellent. IX. PANEL OF V E L V E T (detail) L A T E S I X T E E N T H OR E A R L Y S E V E N T E E N T H C E N T U R Y The panel measures 143 cm. by 56 cm.

Cut voided velvet. The white ground is occupied by an allover design of interlaced double ogival lattice of stems bearing five-petaled conventional blossoms, leaf palmettes with

34

DESCRIPTION

OF

PLATES

enclosed flowers, complex lotus palmettes, and curved serrated leaves. T h e colors of the design are blue and white. T h e state of preservation is good. X. P A N E L OF BROCADED V E L V E T {detail) L A T E S I X T E E N T H OR E A R L Y S E V E N T E E N T H

CENTURY

The panel measures 107 cm. by 46 cm. Cut voided velvet, brocaded. T h e design, on an orange ground, consists of interlaced double ogival lattice, one being formed of bands. Large lotus palmettes and branches of floriated stems fill the compartments. Confronted birds are placed at the intersections of stems and bands. T h e colors of the design are red, blue, green, black, yellow, and white. Some details of ornaments are enriched with gold threads. There are five pieces of various sizes of this velvet in the Shrine. All of them are in an excellent state of preservation. XI. P A N E L OF BROCADED V E L V E T (detail) MIDDLE S E V E N T E E N T H C E N T U R Y The panel measures 152 cm. by 6j cm. Cut voided velvet, brocaded. T h e gold ground is decorated in alternate rows with youths holding flowers and standing beside conventional blossoming sprays. Over each spray is a butterfly. T h e motif is repeated in six rows. T h e colors are green, salmon, light blue, red, black, and white. T h e panel is in a poor state of preservation. XII. C O V E R OF I M A M ' S T O M B , BROCADED S I L K {detail) WOVEN BY S A I F l - I 'ABBASI, E A R L Y S E V E N T E E N T H

CENTURY

Several large pieces of various sizes Compound twill, brocaded. T h e silver ground is occupied by an ogival lattice of large gold bands embellished with zigzag lines and rosettes. The enclosed design consists of a large complex flower framed by two stems growing from a cloud bracket and bearing lotus palmettes, five-petaled blossoms, and small leaves. This motif in the ogival compartment is flanked by the signatory inscription, reversed on the right side, in Persian, which reads: < s J ^

d-*^ ("Work of Salfi-i 'Abbas!"). T h e colors of the design are orange, red, blue,

black, and green.

DESCRIPTION

OF P L A T E S

35

The textile is a portion of a large round tomb cover, sewed from various pieces, the examples of which are reproduced in Plates X I V to X V I I . The state of preservation is excellent. XIII. E N L A R G E D

DETAIL

OF

BROCADED

SILK

WOVEN

BY

SAlFl-I

' A B B A S l R E P R O D U C E D IN PLATE X I I XIV. COVER OF IMAM'S TOMB, BROCADED SILK (detail) E A R L Y S E V E N T E E N T H CENTURY Several pieces of various sizes

Double cloth, brocaded. On a tan ground are rows of lobed ogival medallions in gold threads, decorated with undulating arabesques. The medallions enclose symmetrically arranged stems bearing lotus palmettes, blossoms, and leaves. The space between the medallions is occupied by scrolling stems bearing serrated curved lanceolate leaves partly covering leaf palmettes or blossoms. The colors of the design are blue, yellow, green, black, and orange. The textile is a portion of a large round tomb cover composed of various pieces sewed together, the examples of which are reproduced in Plates X I I to X V I I . The state of preservation is excellent. XV. COVER OF IMAM'S TOMB, BROCADED SILK (detail) E A R L Y S E V E N T E E N T H CENTURY Several pieces of various sizes

Compound twill, brocaded. On a tan ground are rows of medallions framed by flame motifs and enclosing arabesques on a gold ground. At the lower ends of each medallion are attached forked flame motifs, and at the tops are flower sprays flanking a complex palmette. The colors of the design are salmon, red, blue, brown, and pink. The textile is a portion of a large round tomb cover composed of various pieces sewed together, the examples of which are reproduced in Plates X I I to X V I I . The state of preservation is excellent.

36

DESCRIPTION

OF

PLATES

XVI. C O V E R O F I M A M ' S T O M B , B R O C A D E D S I L K {detail) EARLY SEVENTEENTH

CENTURY

Several pieces oj various sizes

Double cloth, brocaded. The silver ground is decorated with alternate rows of conventional flower sprays growing from the edges of rocks. Complex leaf palmettes, enriched with gold threads, and serrated lanceolate leaves are attached to the sprays. The colors of the design are blue, green, salmon, and black. The textile is a portion of a large round tomb cover composed of various pieces sewed together, the examples of which are found in Plates X I I to X V I I . The state of preservation is excellent. XVII. C O V E R O F I M A M ' S T O M B , B R O C A D E D S I L K {detail) EARLY SEVENTEENTH

CENTURY

Several pieces of various sizes

Double cloth, brocaded. The design consists of flower sprays in alternate rows on a white ground. The sprays and four green serrated lanceolate leaves are growing from the edges of rocks. The red-outlined conventional flowers are entirely brocaded with gold threads. The cloud motif placed above each spray is in green. The textile is a portion of a large round tomb cover composed of various pieces sewed together, the examples of which are reproduced in Plates X I I to X V I . The state of preservation is excellent. XVIII. H A N G I N G O F B R O C A D E D

SILK

W O V E N B Y I B N Q U J B A L - D l N , D A T E D 1036 A.H.

(1626)

The hanging measures370 cm. by 160 cm.

Double cloth, brocaded. The hanging is decorated with a landscape design within a niche, the ogival lobed arch of which is formed of serrated curved leaves. The spandrels, on a blue ground, have scrolling floriated stems. Under the arch is a hillock with conventional trees and flowering plants growing from the edges of rocks. Above the hillock, on a white ground, are six flying herons and forked clouds. In the center of the field is a vase flanked by iris sprays and placed on an arabesque bracket ending in pheasant heads. The vase itself is decorated with flying herons, conventional trees, and leafy sprays. From the vase symmetrically drawn stems grow, bearing large complex leaf palmettes, multipetaled flowers, and curved serrated lanceolate

DESCRIPTION

OF PLATES

37

leaves partly covering flowers. On each side of the vase is a blossoming tree with a perched twisted pheasant. At the bottom of these trees are carnation sprays. The ogival medallion with inscription, below the vase, is flanked by large flower sprays, the blossoms of which are multipetaled and the leaves serrated. There are two more flower sprays below the medallion. The lower part of the field is occupied by a pool with spiral lines indicating water, in which are fish and ducks. On the edge of the pool from behind rocks grow lanceolate leaves, sprays with leaf palmettes, and conventional flowers and carnations. Above these are more trees and sprays. The ground of the field is brocaded in gold. The spiral lines of the water are in silver; the design itself is in a great number of brilliant colors. The hanging has wide borders in three parts on two sides only. The main border has a red ground occupied with a naskhi inscription in white on a background pattern of scrolling floriated stems. The design of the inner border-strip is an undulating stem bearing complex blossoms and vine leaves. The outer border-strip has an inscription. The upper end of the hanging shows a portion of the inner border-strips. The lower end has a narrow band divided into oblong cartouches and quatrefoils containing inscriptions. They are in a poor state of preservation. The inscription in the ogival medallion is in Persian and reads: ^-.VJ •> / ***/ lA^' "r-k® ("1° the date of Rabi' al-Awwal, the year thousand and thirty-six, work of . . . , son of Mawlana Qutb al-Din . . .").

38

DESCRIPTION

OF

PLATES

Unfortunately, the first name of the artist is again in the destroyed section, thus remaining unknown. The month of Rabl* al-Awwal of the year 1036 A.H. corresponds to November-December of 1626 A.D. The state of preservation is poor. XIX. H A N G I N G OF B R O C A D E D SILK DATED 1129 A.H. (1716/17) The banging measures 102 cm. by 4Q cm.

Double cloth, brocaded. The decoration of the hanging consists of a

mihrab

niche, inscrip-

tions, and floral design. The spandrels, on a silver ground, contain scrolling floriated stems bearing naturalistically drawn irises, five-petaled poppies, and serrated leaves, two of them covering part of a multipetaled blossom. The silver-gilt ground within the niche is divided into three sections. The upper and lower sections are occupied by large

naskhi

inscriptions in black. The middle section has a panel with a square opening framed by oblong cartouches and quatrefoils containing inscriptions. On both right and left sides of the panel are sprays of poppies and lilies. T h e colors of the floral motifs are green, salmon, and pink, enriched with gold threads. The border is divided into oblong cartouches enclosing an inscription in cherry red on a silver ground. There are also two quatrefoils in the upper corners. The principal inscription of the niche is in Arabic and is a well-known saying referring to Imam 'All and his heroic deed at the "battle of

Khandaq

' which was fought during the

siege of al-Madlnah in the year 627. A t the end of this inscription in the lower section is the date 1 1 2 9 A.H., corresponding to 1 7 1 6 / 1 7 A . D . The inscription of the panel with the opening and border is a long, rather inferior Persian verse eulogizing Imam. The author is unknown, although an anonymous name, Amir, possibly a nom de plume, as been used. The short inscriptions in two quatrefoils of the border are again in Persian and read, " O , Muhammad, save me!" and, " O , 'All, help me!" The state of preservation is excellent.

DESCRIPTION

OF

PLATES

39

XX. PANEL OF BROCADED SILK (detail) EARLY EIGHTEENTH CENTURY Tie panel measures 155 cm. by 71 cm.

Compound twill, brocaded. The design consists of simple, naturalistically drawn poppy sprays in spaced alternate rows on a silver ground. The blossoms are salmon pink, and the serrated leaves are in green. The state of preservation is excellent. XXI. TOMB COVER OF BROCADED SILK (detail) EARLY EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 1"be cover measures 150 cm. by J/J

cm.

Double cloth, brocaded. The design, on a green ground, consists of an ogival lattice formed by leaves containing flower sprays with leaves in gold and blossoms in dark red and white. The trimming band sewed to the panel as borders is of early eighteenth-century origin. The design of the band, on a gold ground, is an undulating stem bearing naturalistically drawn flowers. The state of preservation is excellent. XXII. PANEL OF BROCADED SILK (detail) EARLY EIGHTEENTH CENTURY The panel measures 127 cm. by 82 cm.

Double cloth, brocaded. The decoration consists of leafy branches of trees in silver, thickly covering the entire white ground in horizontal sections. On this background design are spaced alternate rows of yellowish-green conventional trees with dark-green contour lines. The state of preservation is excellent. XXIII. COVER WOVEN IN SILK LATE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY The fragment measures 105 cm. by 82 cm.

Woven in colored silk; tapestry technique. The design consists of symmetrically arranged large floral motifs on a blue ground. T w o tulips, containing leaf palmettes, are flanked by smaller tulips, carnations, and arabesques enriched with floriated stems. Halves of lobed ogival medallions, enclosing similar floral ornaments, are surrounded by rosettes and

40

DESCRIPTION

OF

PLATES

serrated lanceolate leaves partly covering lotus palmettes. The yellow main border has complex lotus palmettes and lanceolate leaves. The two border-strips contain geometrical patterns. The colors of the design are light blue, salmon, red, green, yellow, and black. The fragment consists of two pieces sewed together. The state of preservation is good. XXIV. COVER EMBROIDERED IN SILK EARLY SEVENTEENTH CENTURY The cover measures 7 / cm. by

cm.

Embroidered in colored silk; darning stitch on loosely woven cotton ground. The design, on a plain ground, consists of youthful horsemen holding falcons amid conventional blossoming trees. The wide border, divided into diamond and triangular compartments, contains the same figural motif. The dresses of the riders are in blue and red. The dividing bands have geometrical patterns. The state of preservation is excellent. XXV. COVER EMBROIDERED IN SILK SEVENTEENTH CENTURY The fragment measures 95 cm. by 61 cm.

Embroidered in colored silk; darning stitch on cotton ground. The design, entirely covering the foundation material, consists of wide stripes divided by narrow bands. The outer stripes have the popular scene of Khusraw on horseback discovering Shirin seated in a pool and combing her hair. Each of the two inner stripes contains three cartouches with the Persian inscription in

naskht:

¿V >

( " M a y the end be felicitous")- The middle

stripe contains one complete and two half medallions and two oblong cartouches, the latter containing seated figures. Floral and palmette motifs fill the remaining space. The principal colors are black, white, blue, and red. The state of preservation is excellent. XXVI. COVER EMBROIDERED IN SILK EARLY EIGHTEENTH CENTURY the fragment measures in

cm. by 69 cm.

Embroidered in colored silk; darning stitch on cotton ground. The design, entirely covering the foundation material, is arranged in wide stripes. The two outer stripes have an

DESCRIPTION

OF

PLATES

41

allover pattern of standing personages on a background design of floriated scrolling stems separated by cypress trees. The adjacent stripes contain large tulip-like flowers and complex palmettes, the former enclosing blossoms and a peacock and the latter surrounded by pheasants. The narrow bands on each side of the middle stripe are decorated with animals. The middle stripe repeats the tulip-like ornaments and palmettes which are surrounded by recumbent lions. The colors of the design, on a black ground, are yellow, blue, white, and red. The state of preservation is excellent. XXVII. COVER EMBROIDERED IN SILK EIGHTEENTH CENTURY "Thefragment measures 123 cm. by 66 cm.

Embroidered in colored silk; darning stitch on cotton ground. The design, entirely covering the foundation material, is arranged in stripes, consisting of conventionalized plant motifs, lobed round medallions, octagons, and oblong cartouches containing palmettes and arabesques. The principal colors of the design, on a black or yellowish-white ground, are white, blue, red, and yellow. The state of preservation is excellent. XXVIII. COVER EMBROIDERED IN SILK EIGHTEENTH CENTURY Thefragment measures pS cm. by 75 cm.

Embroidered in colored silk; darning stitch on cotton ground. The design, entirely covering the foundation material, and arranged in wide and narrow stripes, consists of angular arabesques, palmettes, rosettes, and so-called "bird" motifs. The colors of the design are black, red, green, and white. The state of preservation is excellent.

Appendices A: SAFAWID TEXTILE

THE NUMBER OF WEAVERS

WEAVERS

of the Safawid period known from signatory inscriptions is

small. The following list of these weavers and their works is of a tentative nature and does not claim to be complete.

W E A V E R S OF D A T E D

TEXTILES

1. Mir Nizam Silk tomb cover decorated with stripes of inscription, arabesques, and floral motifs. The signatory inscription in naskhi reads:

S&

j?

("Work of Mir

Nizam. Work of Resht in the year 952" [1545/6]). In the Shrine of Imam Rida at Mashhad (P. Ackerman, "Persian Textiles of Islamic Period," in A Survey of Persian Art, p. 2076, pi. 1083). 2. Husayn Brocaded silk with figural design of a youth kneeling under a tree, offering fruit to a standing woman. The signature and the year in naskhi are on a bottle between the figures and read: 1 • »A

("Work of Husayn in the year 1008" [1599/1600].

In Metropolitan Museum of Art (M. S. Dimand, "Dated Specimens of Mohammedan Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art," in Metropolitan Museum Studies, I [1929]), 110, fig. 12, where the signature was read " Y a h y a , " with a question mark, later corrected to "Husayn" by the same author in A Guide to an Exhibition of Oriental Rugs and Textiles, p. 28, n. 52). 3. Ibn Qutb al-DIn Brocaded silk hanging with landscape design. The signatory inscription in naskhi reads:

¿¿-JI

^ y a!1

^

("Work of . . . Ibn Mawlana Qutb al-Din

. . . " ) . Dated 1036 A.H. [1626]. In the Shrine of Imam 'All at al-Najaf (see p. 36, Plate X V I I I ) .

44

SAFAWID

TEXTILE

WEAVERS

4. Häjji Mir 'Ali Silk with stripes of inscriptions. The signatory inscription in naskhi reads: j-* ^

J**

("Work of Häjji Mir 'AH in the year 1056" [1646/7]). In the possession

of H. Kevorkian (.Exhibition of the Kevorkian Collection, No. 524, wherein the name and date are given as "Hhalij Mir Ali, 1052 A . H . " ) . 5. Isma'il Käghäni Brocaded silk banner decorated with medallions containing inscriptions and surrounded by arabesque designs. The signatory inscription in naskhi reads: ^ilAlT [1694/5

("Work of the slave Isma'il of Käshän"). Dated 1106 and 1107 A.H. a n < i i 695/6].

Formerly in the possession of E. Beghian, now in Metropolitan

Museum of Art (N. A. Reath and E. B. Sachs, Persian Textiles and Their Technique from the Sixth to the Eighteenth Centuries, p. 74, pi. 15). W E A V E R S OF U N D A T E D

TEXTILES

i. 'Abd-Alläh The name appears on four variously designed textiles which differ from each other, not only in techniques, but also in the styles of drawing. It is therefore difficult to consider the weaver as the actual designer of all these textiles. Possibly he was the owner of a manufactory and his name appears as a trade-mark. It is noteworthy that the signature on all pieces is not preceded by the word

("work o f " ) and is in three cases in

küß, as I I S . (a) Brocaded satin with figural design representing a musical scene in a garden. T h e signature in naskhi on the tambourines is as follows: «lli-^ ('"Abd-Alläh"). The pieces of this textile are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (No. 08.109.18), and in the possession of D. G. Kelekian (Fr. Sarre and F. R. Martin, Die Ausstellung von Meisterwerken muhammedanischer Kunst, Vol. III, pi. 200, or E. Flemming, An Encyclopedia oj Textiles, pi. 308). (b) Brocaded satin with figural design representing a horseman leading a prisoner by a leash. The signature in küß is on the quiver. The pieces of this textile are in the Art Institute of Chicago (M. Aga-Oglu, Exhibition of Islamic Art, p. 59, No. 212), and in the collection of Miss L. Bliss (G. Wiet, L Exposition persane de 1931, p. 54, pi. 30, and P. Ackerman, "Persian Textiles of Islamic Period," in A Survey of Persian Art, p. 2101, pi. 1044A). (c) Double cloth with figural design representing a garden scene in turnover composition. The signature in küß is at the top of the cypress tree. In the Textile Museum of the District of Columbia, Washington, D . C . (N. A . Reath and E. B. Sachs,

SAFAWID TEXTILE WEAVERS

45

Persian Textiles and Their Technique from the Sixth to the Nineteenth Centuries, p. 92, pi. 38). (d) Brocaded velvet with figurai design representing a standing woman holding a bottle and a cup. The signature in küß is on the bottle. Fragments of this velvet are in Musée Historique des Tissus, Lyons (F. R. Martin, Figurale persische Stoffe, pl. 4, or R. Cox, Les Soieries d'art, pl. 28, and T. W. Arnold, "Persian Stuffs with Figure-Subjects," in The Burlington Magazine, X X X V I I [1920], 243); in the possession of Bacri, Paris (P. Ackerman, op. cit., p. 2102, pi. 1043); and in the former collection of A. Figdor in Vienna (Fr. Sarre and F. R. Martin, op. cit., Vol. I l l , pi. 192). 2. Äqä Mahmüd Fragment of a silk sash decorated with flower sprays. The signature in naskhï is in a corner as follows: ûî ("Work of Äqä Mahmüd"). In W. R. Nelson Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri (P. Ackerman, op. cit., p. 2131, pl. 1055A). 3. Ghlyä£h His full name was Khwâjah GhTyâth al-Dïn 'All, a native of Yezd, according to a seven teenth-century account (P. Ackerman, "A Biography of Ghiyath, the Weaver," in Bulletin of the American Institute for Persian Art and Archaeology, No. 7 [1934], pp. 9 ff.). The textiles of Ghîyâth were well known in India, according to Abü '1-Fadl 'Allâml (Â'ïn-i Akbarï, I, 88). Seven textiles of various techniques and designs are inscribed with his name. J . H. Schmidt justly observes that "die Stoffe sind stilistisch nicht einheitlich. Hinter dem Namen verbirgt sich also wahrscheinlich der Inhaber oder Leiter der Werkstatt" ("Persische Stoffe mit Signaturen von Ghiyâs," in "Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen in Wien, N. F. VII [1933], 227). On these textile pieces the name occurs either in kûfïor in naskhï with or without the word ("work of"). (a) Black satin with figurai design representing Laîlâ on camel visiting Majnün. The signature in naskhï is on the palanquin as follows: tfj* ("Work of Ghiyath"). There are seven known pieces of this textile in the following collections: National Museum, Copenhagen, formerly in the collection of Fr. Sarre (Fr. Sarre and F. R. Martin, op. cit., Vol. I l l , pi. 198); Musée des Arts Décoratifs (R. Koechlin and G. Migeon, Cent planches en couleurs d'art musulman, pl. 70); Musée Historique des Tissus, Lyons (R. Cox, op. cit., pl. 26); Musée du Cinquantenaire, Brussels (I. Errera, Catalogue d'étoffés anciennes et modernes, p. 245, No. 324, and G. Wiet, op. cit., p. 51, pl. 30) ; Bargello, Florence (E. Flemming, op. cit., pl. 287) ; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (N. A. Reath and E. B. Sachs, op. cit., pl. 65); Cooper Union

46

SAFAWID T E X T I L E

WEAVERS

Museum, New York, formerly in the collection of Miquel y Badia in Barcelona (José Pascó y Mensa, Catalogue de la collection des tissus anciens de D. Francisco Miquel y Badia, pl. 20, No. 144; and M. S. Dimand, A Guide to an Exhibition oj Oriental Rugs and Textiles, p. 28, fig. 16). (b) Dark-red satin with figurai design representing Lalla on camel visiting Majnün, but differently composed than the black satin. The signature in a shield on the palanquin is as follows: g ("Work of Ghiyäih"). In the possession of D. G. Kelekian (N. A. Reath and E. B. Sachs, op. cit., p. 117, pi. 74). (c) Silk hanging with floral design within an arch and inscription border. The signature in lotus palmettes in küß is as follows: g | [ ("Work of Ghiyäth"). I n the Shrine of Shaykh SafI at Ardebïl (J. H. Schmidt, op. cit., p. 226, fig. 179; or P. Ackerman, "Persian Textiles of Islamic Period in A Survey oj Persian Art, pi. 1037)(d) Silk tomb cover with design of ogival lattice stems bearing palmettes and blossoms. The signature in naskht is in the palmettes. In the Shrine of Shaykh SafI at Ardebll (P. Ackerman, op. cit., p. 2096, pi. 1036). (e) Cut voided velvet with figurai design representing seated youths under a tree. The signature in the rock at the base of the flower sprays in küß is as follows: ("Ghiyäth"). Formerly in the collection of Fr. Sarre, now in the Textile Museum of the District of Columbia (Fr. Sarre and F. R. Martin, op. cit., Vol. I l l , pi. 191 ). Another piece is in Musée du Cinquantenaire (I. Errera, op. cit., No. 264). (f) Cut voided velvet with figurai design representing Khosraw discovering Shlrin. The signature in naskht is as follows: «£¡ ("Work of Ghiyäth"). In the possession of A. Loewi, Venice (J. H. Schmidt, op. cit., figs. 175 and 176; or P. Ackerman, "Ghiyath, Persian Master Weaver," in Apollo, Vol. X V I I I [1933], fig. I l l , also G. Wiet, op. cit., pp. 54f., pi. 29). (g) Cut voided velvet with design of ogival lattice of double bands. The signature in naskhï on each side of the rosettes placed on junctions of the bands is as follows: ¿>L¿ ("Work of Ghiyäth"). In the possession of D. G. Kelekian (J. Guiffrey and G. Migeon, La Collection Kelekian, pi. 75). J . H. Schmidt, in his aforementioned article, published a compound cloth in the Weltliche Schatzkammer, Vienna. This cloth, used as covering of the casket for the crown of Stephen Bocskay, Prince of Transylvania, has a figurai design representing a garden scene. According to Schmidt: "In dem Buch, das die Dame in der Hand hält, findet man die Signatur Ghiyâs" (op. cit., p. 225, pl. 19 and fig. 178). Although the present writer did not have an opportunity to examine the textile, the reproduction of a detail in Figure 178

SAFAWID T E X T I L E

WEAVERS

shows clearly that the inscription is not the name of Ghiyäth. but reads: which is the Arabic word for "believer."

47 ("mumin")

4. Husayn Silk cloth with design of conventional flower sprays. The signature in naskh't on the leaves reads: ¿r-3" J** ("Work of the weaver Husayn"). In the collection of the late F. R. Martin (F. R. Martin, Morgenländische Stoße, p. 12, pi. 15). 5. Jan Muhammad ("Jan Blue satin with design of arabesque bands. The signature in naskht reads: -u®» Muhammad"). In Museum für Kunst und Industrie, Vienna (M. Dreger in Die Ausstellung von Meisterwerken, III, 9, pi. 201, and G. Wiet, op. cit.y p. 58). P. Ackerman ("Persian Textiles of Islamic Period," in A Survey of Persian Art, p. 2121) suggests the reading, "Muhammad Khan." 6. Mughith Blue satin hanging with conventional palmette tree within a niche. The signature in the lanceolate leaves at the bottom in naskht reads: ("Work of Mughith"). There are three known identical hangings in the following collections: Victoria and Albert Museum (Brief Guide, p. 15, pi. 1, or P. Ackerman, op. cit., p. 2129, pi. 1047); Musée Historique des Tissus, Lyons (R. Cox, op. cit., pi. 35, or H. D'Hennezel, Catalogue des principales pieces exposées, p. 24, No. 81, pi. 4); and in the possession of E. Beghian (Fr. Sarre and F. R. Martin, op. cit., Vol. I l l , pi. 203). 7. Mu'izz al-Din ibn Ghiyäth Son of the weaver Ghiyäth. mentioned among his six sons in the biographical record published by P. Ackerman, loc. cit. The only known work by him is a greenish satin with conventional floral design in Victoria and Albert Museum. The signature occurs at the base of and in the leaf palmettes and reads: I ( " M u ' i z z al-Din ibn Ghiyäth"). T. W. Arnold, op. cit., p. 243, pi. 3G. 8. Salfi-i 'Abbäsl Brocaded silk with design of ogival lattice. The signature in naskht reads: ^ ^ ^ r 1 J** ("Work of Salfi-i 'Abbäsl"). In the Shrine of Imäm 'All at al-Najaf (See above, p. 34, Plate X I I I ) . According to P. Ackerman ("Persian Textiles of Islamic Period," in A Survey of Persian Art, p. 2132, n. 2) a weaver's name, Shaft\ occurs on a hanging in the Shrine of Qumm which shows a design of a cupbearer within a niche (A. J. B. Wace, "Some Safawid Silks at Burlington House," in The Burlington Magazine, Vol. LVIII [1931], pi. 2C). The

48

SAFAWID T E X T I L E

WEAVERS

present writer, however, did not have an opportunity to check the reading of the signatory inscription on this hanging. Besides the weavers listed above there are a number whose names occur on late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century taffetas, sashes, and trimming bands of not too great artistic significance. (For some of these names see G. Wiet, op. cit., p. 58, No. 56; N. A. Reath and E. B. Sachs, op. cit., p. 70, pi. 8; P. Ackerman, op. cit., pp. 2125, 2131, and 2139). B:

DATED

SAFAWID

TEXTILES

N U M B E R OF dated Safawid textiles is very small. The following eight pieces, including the two published in this book, are the only ones known to the writer at present.

THE

1. 952 A.H. (1545/6). dix A, No. 1).

Signed silk tomb cover in the Shrine of Imam Rida (see Appen-

2. 1008 A.H. (1599/1600). A, No. 1). 3. /oj6 A.H. (1626). pendix A, No. 3). 4. 1056 A.H. (1646/7). A, No. 4).

Signed silk in Metropolitan Museum of Art (see Appendix

Signed hanging in the Shrine of Imam 'All at al-Najaf (see ApSigned silk in the possession of H. Kevorkian (see Appendix

5. 1080 A.H. (1669/70). Brocaded silk hanging presented to the Shrine of Imam Rida at Mashhad by the Safawid Shah Sulayman I (Persian Art, An Illustrated Souvenir oj the Exhibition of Persian Art at Burlington House, 2d ed., p. 78, No. 844). 6. 1091 A.H. (1680). Fragment of a silk tissue decorated with stripes of compartments enclosing inscriptions, in the possession of H. Monif, New York. 7. 1106 and 1107 A.H. (1694/5 and of Art (see Appendix A, No. 5). 8 . 1 1 2 9 A.H. (1716/17). Plate X I X ) .

)•

Signed banner in Metropolitan Museum

Silk hanging in the Shrine of Imam 'All (see above, p. 38, and

A few dated trimming bands and sashes are omitted from this list.

Bibliography Abü '1-Fadl 'Allâmï. Ä1n-i Akbari. Translated by H. Blochmann. Calcutta, 1873. Ackerman, Phyllis. "The Gold Brocades of Isfahan," Apollo, Vol. XIII (1931 ). "Ghiyath, Persian Master Weaver," Apollo, Vol. XVIII (1933). "A Biography of Ghiyath the Weaver," Bulletin of the American Institute for Persian Art and Archaeology, No. 7 (1934). "Embroidery in Persia," Embroidery, Vol. Ill (1934). "Some Problems of Seljuq and Safavid Textiles," IIP Congrès international d'art et d'archéologie iraniens. Mémoires. Leningrad, Septembre, 1935. Ed. J. Orbéli. Moscow, 1939. "Persian Textiles of Islamic Period," A Survey of Persian Art. Oxford, 1938. Aga-Oglu, Mehmet. Persian Bookbindings of the Fifteenth Century. (A Contribution from the Research Seminary in Islamic Art, University of Michigan, Fine Arts, Vol. I.) Ann Arbor, 1935. "A Study of the Holy Shrines at Nedjef and Kerbela," Ars Islamica, Vol. II (1935)Exhibition of Islamic Art. (M. H. De Young Memorial Museum. ) San Francisco, 1937. Arnold, Sir Thomas W. "Persian Stuffs with Figure-Subjects," The Burlington Magazine, Vol. XXXVII (1920). Painting in Islam. A Study of the Place of Pictorial Art in Moslem Culture. Oxford, 1928. Ashton, Leigh. Brief Guide to the Persian Embroideries. (Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Textiles.) London, 1929. "The Persian Exhibition. Textiles, Some Early Pieces," The Burlington Magazine, Vol. LVIII (1931). Ausstellung von Meisterwerken muhammedanischer Kunst in München 1910. Amtlicher Katalog. Munich, 1910. BapTOJiLffB, BacHJiifi B. Typicearain. bt> anoxy MOHro.ibCKaro HamecTBia. C.-IIeTep6ypn>, 1898-1900.

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flpeBHeä

c e p e ö p a H o f i 11 SOJIOTOH

no-

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C.-IIeTepôypn,, 1909.

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Index ' A b b i s I, Shäh, 6, 9, 13, 15, 20, 31, 32 'Abbäs II, Shäh, 24, 26 'Abbäsids, 4 'Abd-AJläh, 23,44 'Abd al-Rahmän ibn M u l j a m al-§ärimi, 4 Aberconway, Lord, viii, 10, 11, fig. 4 Abü'l-Haijä', 5 Ackerman, Phyllis, vii Adam, tomb, 6 'Adnd al-Dawla A b u S h u j ä ' Fenä Khosraw. 5 'Ä'ishah, 3 'AJä Qapi Palace, 20 'All ibn A b i T a l i b , ^-6, 38; see also Imäm 'Ali, Shrine 'All Ridä-i 'AbbäsT, 20 AI-Najaf, vii, viii, 3, 4-6 Al-Sayyid 'Abbäs Al-Räfi'i, viii A q ä MaljmGd, 45 Ardebil, shrine o f S h a v k h § a f ! at, 8, 22, 23 Aurangzib, Mughal, 26 Baghdad, 4, 5, 6 Bahä' al-Dawla, 5 " B a t t l e of Khandaq" 38 " B a t t l e of the C a m e l , " 3 Bell, Gertrude L . , 7 Bernheimer, L., M u n i c h , rug, 11, fig. 5 Bodleian Library, Oxford, 26 British Museum, London, xo Büdäq Beg, 26 B ü y i d dynasty, 5 Cartier, L., 10 C o a t , velvet, in T o p k a p i Sarayi Müzesi, 17 Congress of Orientalists, vii Cover for tomb of Imäm 'All, 20-22, 34-36, pis. XII-XVII Dalmatic, in Victoria and Albert Museum, 26 Damascus, 4

Detroit Institute of Arts, vii D e Y o u n g Memorial Museum, M . H . , San Francisco, 19 Dimand, Maurice S., vii Embroideries, Turkish, in shrine of Imam 'Ali, 8 Falke, O t t o von, vii Family prayer rugs, see Rugs, prayer Fay$al, king of 'Iraq, 7 FirdausI, Abu'l Qasim, Shàh Nàmab, vii Flemming, Ernst, vii Ghazan M a h m ù d , king of Persia, 5 G h i v a t h ( K h w à j a h Ghiyàth ai-Din 'Ali), 22, 23, 45 " G o l d and silver carpets," 16 Grimini, Mariano, Doge, 13 y a j j l Mir 'All, 44 Hamdanid dynasty, 5 Hangings, brocaded silk, in shrine of Imam 'Ali, 22-25, 36-38, pis. X V I I I , X I X Harun al-Rashid, 5 Hormuzd, 20 Husayn, 43, 47 I^usayn Bey Al-Rabi'i, viii Ibn B a t t u f a h , 6 Ibn I^awqal, 5 Ibn Jubayr, 5 Ibn Q u t b al-DIn, 22, 23, 2 4 , 3 6 , 3 7 , 4 3 Imam al Husayn, 4, 6; shrine, 7 Imam 'All, cover for tomb, 20-22, 34-36, pis. X I I XVII Imam 'All, shrine, vii, 5 , 6 , 8 ff.\ air view of, fig. 1 Imam Rida, shrine, viii, 8, 12, 13, 14, fig. 8 Indian textile patterns, 27 'Iraq, royal government, vii, viii, 6 Isfahan, vii; inscriptions of mosques, 20; royal atelier in, 11, 13, 14, 16

58

INDEX

Ismä'il I, Shäh. 6 Isma'il Käshäni, 44 Jamäli, Muhammad Fädel, viii Jan Muhammad, 11, 47 Jawdat, 'All, viii Jüshaqän, 14 Karbalä', vii, viii, 4, 6, 7 Käshän, vii, 16 Kelekian, D. G., 23 Kendrick, Albert F., vii Kbamsah manuscript, 10 Khandaq. battle of, 38 Khärijites, 3, 4 Khosraw and Shirin, design, 28, 29, 40 Khosraw Parwiz, 20 Khuraiba. 3 Küfah, al-, 3, 4 Küß Qurän manuscripts, 7 Kühnel, Ernst, vii Kunstgewerbe Museum, Berlin, 18 Lailä and Majnün, design, 10, 23, 45, 46 Mackay, Clarence H., 13 Madlnah, al-, 3, 38 Mahmüd Muzahhib, 21 Malikshäh, Sultan, 5 Martin, Fredrik R., vii Mashhad, shrine of Imäm Ridä at, 8, 12, 13, 14, 16, fig. 8 Mawlänä Qutb al-DTn, 22, 37 Mawsil, al-, 5 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 18, 23, 27 Michigan, University of, vii Miniature, in Museum of Fine Arts, 26, fig. 14 Miniature, in Royal Scottish Museum, 10 Miniature, Mughal, 26 Mir Nizäm, 43 Mir Sayyid 'Ali, painting, 10 Mu'äwiyah ibn Abi Sufyän, 3 Mughal miniature, 26 Mughal textiles, 27 Mughith, 22, 47 Muhammad 'All, 22, 37 Mu'izz al-Din al-ShGshtari, 22, 37 Mu'izz al-DIn ibn Ghlyäth. 47 Muräd III, Sultan, 17

Musée du Louvre, Paris, 18 Museum fur Kunst und Industrie, Vienna, 11 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, viii, 26 Muzaffar al-DIn, Shah, 7 Nadir Shah Afshâr, 6 Nahrawân, 3 National Museum, Tihràn, 23 Nizâm al-Mulk, 5 Noah, tomb, 6 Oruzheynaya Palata, Moscow, 26 Ottoman Empire, 6, 7 Oz, Tahsin, viii Panels, brocaded silk, in shrine of Imâm 'All, 2527, 39, pis. X X - X X I I Panels, brocaded velvet, in shrine of Imam 'All, 16-19, 33-34, pis. VII-XI Persia, war with Ottoman Empire, 6 Persian art, naturalism, 25; use of motifs from, 17, 18, 19, 23 Persians, adopt Shl'ah movement, 4 "Polish" rugs, 8, 11, 13, 15 Pope, Arthur II, vii Qumm, mausoleum of Shah 'Abbâs II, 24 Qumm, shrine at, 8, 16 Raqqah, al-, 3 Reath, Nancy A., and Sachs, Eleanor B., vii Residenz-Museum, Munich, 17 Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh, 10 Rug, in shrine of Imâm Rida, 8, 12, 13, 14, fig. 8 Rug, in treasury of Cathedral of St. Mark, 12, 13, 14, 7 Rug, of Lord Aberconway, 10, 11, fig. 4 Rug, of Friedrich Sarre, 14 Rugs, fragments, wool, gold and silver brocaded, in shrine of Imâm 'All, 15, 32, pis. V, VI Rugs, material and techniques, 8 Rugs, post-Safawid, in shrine of Imâm 'All, 8 Rugs, prayer, wool, gold and silver brocaded, in shrine of Imâm 'All, 14-16,31, pis. I l l , IV Rugs, silk, gold and silver brocaded, in shrine of Imâm 'All, 9-14, 30, pis. I, II Sachs, Eleanor B., see Reath and Sachs Safawid dynasty, 6, 8, ip

INDEX §afawid textiles, dated, 48; source of designs, 27 §afawid textile weavers, 43-48 §afi I, Shah, 6 Salfi-i 'Abbasi, 20, 34, 35, 47 St. Mark, Cathedral of, rug in treasury of, viii, 12, 1 3 , 14, fig. 7 Sarre, Friedrich, vii, 14, 25 Sati' Bey, viii Schlossmuseum, Berlin, 13 Shah-i Wilayet, shrine of, 22, 37 Shab Namab, vii; manuscript, 20 Sharaf al-Dawla, 5 Shavkh §afi, Shrine of, 8, 22, 23 Shl'ah, 4-6, 7 Simsar, Mohammed A., viii Staatliche Museen, Berlin, 16 Sulayman the Magnificent, 6 Sulfanlya, 6 Talljah ibn 'Abd-Allah, 3 Tapestry and embroideries in shrine of Imam 'All, 27-29,39-41, pis. X X I I I - X X V I I I Tattersall, Creassey Edward C., vii

59

Textile Museum of the District of Columbia, Washington, 16, 27 Textiles, post-Safawid, in shrine of Imam 'All, 8 Xihràn, vii, 14 Tlmurid period, 20 Topkapi Sarayi Muzesi, Istanbul, viii, 17, fig. 11 Tùs, vii UJjàitù Khodà Bende Muhammad, 6, 17 Umayyad dynasty, 3, 4 'Ulhmàn, 3 "Vase" rugs, 13 Velvets, see Panels, velvet Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28 Wace, Alan John B., vii Weavers, Safawid textile, 43-48 Yazd, vii Zubayr ibn al'Awwàm, al-, 3

The Plates

PLATE I

PLATE II

PLATE IV

PLATE V

PLATE VI

PLATE VII

PLATE V i l i

PLATE IX

PLATE X

PLATE X I I

PLATE X I I I

PLATE XIV

PLATE XV

PLATE XVI

PLATE XVII

PLATE X V I I I

PLATE X I X

PLATE XX

PLATE XXI

PLATE X X I I

PLATE XXIV