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Carpet Fragment

18th century
Artist/maker unknown, Indian
These fragments are two portions of the side border of a much larger carpet, sewn together at some later date. The larger of these accounts for less than two-thirds of the original width of the principal border design, which has a dark blue ground. The ivory outer edge of the border (the guard stripe) is still attached on one side, and another run of a similar band has been added to the cut side. Originally the border most likely measured six feet in width, while the complete carpet was more than seventy feet long and thirty feet wide. The central field had a red ground with enormous white flowers ensconced in a trellis of leaves and stems. This monumental textile was produced in India and then transported to the Safavid court in Isfahan, Iran, where it was used in a royal pavilion known as the Hall of the Forty Columns (Chehel Sutun) until the end of the nineteenth century.

Object Details

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