The Met Museum Full Collection Of Islamic Carpet

The met s collection of islamic art ranges in date from the seventh to the twenty first century.

The met museum full collection of islamic carpet. The carpet entered the museum s collection with two overlapping linings made of silk. They were most likely added for its protection at vienna s imperial workshop. The simonetti carpet the conventional practice of naming islamic carpets either after the place they were found niğde carpet or after a previous owner anhalt carpet in this case memoralizes the former italian owner of this magnificent example of fifteenth century cairene weaving under the burji mamluk dynasty 1382 1517. Star ushak carpet of the many surviving fifeenth and sixteenth century carpets with the so called star pattern woven in the western anatolian district of ushak in turkish uşak this example from the mcmullan collection is widely acknowledged to be the preeminent masterpiece because of its large size good condition and excellent draftsmanship and execution.

It appears that after the older lining had deteriorated the carpet was relined with another red silk woven fabric without removing the first. Some sixty superlative examples from the metropolitan museum s collection from persia india turkey north africa and across the islamic world are presented here in lavish detail with concise texts that position each work in historical and cultural context. 1800 flatwoven floor coverings representing a vibrant village and nomadic tradition were produced in a wide swathe of the islamic world from iran the caucasus and anatolia to central asia. It belongs to the same group as the emperor s carpet no.

Comprising both sacred and secular objects the collection reveals the mutual influence of artistic practices such as calligraphy and the exchange of motifs such as vegetal ornament the. The oldest surviving and most beautiful carpet of this type is a very large example almost 29 feet long that belongs to the. 43 121 1 but is slightly later in date. The seley carpet the seley carpet exhibits a superbly balanced and beautiful example of a classical persian medallion design.

The simonetti carpet is commonly called a five color mamluk.