IRAN, LATE 18TH/19TH CENTURY

Whilst figural velvets were some of the most prized textiles produced during the Safavid period under Shah 'Abbas I, their production continued into the later Safavid and Qajar periods. As time progressed the arrangement of design favoured figures in rows, usually in symmetrical groups as seen in the present example. Such velvets are economical in their design, playing with arrangements of a small number of motifs with a simplified style of drawing when compared to earlier examples. A very similar 18th century velvet is in the Farjam Collection (Sheila Canby and Venetia Porter (eds.), Masterpieces of Islamic Art form the Farjam Collection, Volume 2, London, 2024, p. 312, no.149) whilst another, slightly earlier example dated to the second half of the 17th century is in the Keir Collection (F. Spuhler, Islamic Carpets and Textiles in the Keir Collection, London, 1978, p.192, no.112). This trend for simplification continued into the 18th and 19th centuries where the designs became further simplified as displayed by an example published by Spuhler, op.cit., p.194, no.114.