ANALYSING THE ARDEBIL CARPET

Analysing the Ardebil carpet



Analysing the Ardebil carpet

History of Ardebil Carpet

The Ardebil Carpet is a famous collection of pair of two Persian Carpets which is kept in Victoria Albert Museum in London and in Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Here is a photograph of the carpet:



The carpet is in white silk wrap and the pile is knotted in wool in ten different colors. (Herzing, 1995, 48)

The color in Islam operates at three different levels: at the first level, the system is organized according to three colors and at the second level, it is organized according to four colors and at the third level, it is organized according to seven colors system which includes the colors of first and second level. Therefore, in total it has 28 colors. The Ardabil carpet is organized around the system of four colors which includes red (fire), yellow (air), green (water), and blue (earth). (Hill, 1994, 10)

The Persian Influence:

The most important factor in the case of Ardebil Carpet is the Persian Influence which it has. During the period of Zoroastrianism, water and fire were considered the agents of ritual purity, and the connected purification ceremonies are considered the basis of ritual life. (Ziauddin, 1999)

The history of Ardebil carpet can be dated to the Safari period in Iran (1500-1722) and it is regarded as one of the largest and most historical carpet. It has a cartouche in one corner of the carpet, which mentions the date AH947 in the Islamic calendar that is translated to 1540 AD. (Milani, 2004, 12)

The cartouche clearly indicates to the people that a weaver named Masque al Kashani was made by the order of Persian King Shah Tahmasp. The huge phase of creativity in rug making took place in Persia during the Safavid period (1499-1722) under the reign of Shah Tahmasp and Shah Abbas. In this period only, the most glorious and outstanding rugs were created which carries historic significance. The name Ardebil came from Avesta which is the sacred book of Zoroastrians with word Artavil literally meaning a huge holy place. Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on teachings of prophet Zoroaster of Parsis and was once among the world's largest religion. (Wearden, 1995, 239)

It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BC in Persia (Iran). The Islamic conquest of Persia (637-651) led to the end of the Sassanid Empire and the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia. However, the previous achievements of Persian civilizations were not lost, but were to a great extent absorbed by the new Islamic polity. Since then, Islam has been the official religion of Iran. The Safavid Empire made Iran a centre of art, poetry and philosophy. (Sakhai, 1991, 11)



This carpet contains a famous inscription from a well-known Persian poet Hafez that is “I have no refuge in the other than thy threshold”. “There is no place of protection for my head other than this porch ...