The Virtual Carpet - ICOC XIII Washington DC

From Hali, Issue 185, Autumn 2015 

The XIIIth ICOC offered us some utterly new topics for reflection complimenting the orthodox means of communicating rug knowledge. Of these, one especially pertinent to the present state of Carpets Studies addressed the question of what role the Internet might be playing in reshaping the study field in the early 21st Century.

The Internet brings some impressive features; most especially the easy accessibility to a potentially infinite number of readers the immediacy of its contents, and its 'virality'.

Consequently, rug information has become available to the largest audience ever. Indeed, this could well exceed the two other groundbreaking events in the history of rug studies; the launch of the International Conference of Oriental Carpets,1976, and the publication of the specialised quarterly magazine Hali in1978. 

Countless numbers of untapped readers can now access an unthinkable amount of information. Museums, Universities, Cultural Foundations, dedicated websites and blogs all now offer online a wide range of knowledge from the general to near esoteric, whilst updates on related historical and artistic arguments are accessible through University's websites and specific educational platforms. These last are mostly useful for a focused research and freely publish on a large array of topics. Just to give an idea of their potential value, one single visited platform has signed up some 25 million academics adding some six million papers and one and a half million research interests. The immediacy and viral nature of this type of information is neatly conveyed by the statistics which show thirty-six million unique visitors a month. 

ICOC panel - The Virtual Carpet

Accessibility of all this varied material can only be a true enrichment for any serious researcher, despite limitations to the contents reliability. Compare the serious difficulties sourcing information in the era preceding the Internet: physical library searches, purchase of expensive books, seeking appointments with scholars and museum curators and the hazards in accessing the all important images have all been removed by the new medium

Yes images: the big question for anyone interested in understanding and knowing about rug design visual comparison being one of the basic tools of study. Try for yourself the magic Google search: type a 'name' of rug, select the 'images' mode and screens full of rugs: an embarrassment of riches will magically appear before you. An invaluable tool and a delight for even the non-expert user. 

TheTextile Museum - Washington DC

Then we have Social Media where mobile and web-based technologies are used to create highly interactive instant forums through which individuals and communities can share and discuss user-generated contents. So far these sites do not have as strong an impact in the rug world as they do in other society related topics, yet the opportunity offered to all users to voice their ideas online could have profound effects. The first might be to undermine traditional scholarship: a serious issue considering the varying reliability of the information in Social media itself. The second, far more interesting, is the potential to meet and share common rug wisdom; new ideas and perspectives presented by individuals who otherwise could never have the opportunity to share them. Specifically, a few Facebook forums appear to be a growing and favoured arena of some educated and passionate people amongst whom fruitful observations arise in ongoing presentations and debates.

Indeed, the perception of Oriental Rugs via the original insights of so many online individuals may shed light on some still esoteric topic as well or better than the methods of traditional scholarship. 

ICOC XIII - Visiting the new Textile Museum Conservation Laboratories

Potentially, the huge virtual audience, immediacy and accessibility of online information may become a fresh driving force which drives rug scholarship. New findings clearly await us, but how these might solidify in the quicksilver of the new media is rather harder to predict.

Orthodoxy and Heresy - Knotted Symbology

This short essay was the base of the Presentation held in the Sartirana Textile Show, September 2015.

1 - Cairene prayer rug, 1550 circa, Al Sabah coll. Kuwait

2 - Safavid niche rug, 1550 circa, Fletcher bequest, The Metropolitan Museum,  New York

Most obviously the art of a period happens to reflect its spirit, at times it even seems to voice it.

In the case of Oriental Carpets we are often facing compound images in which the complexity of history appears to imbue any single knot and pattern.

During our ruffled journey throughout rugs we have encountered two pieces whose designs are so poignantly conceived as to appear conveying a cypher. They are the Cairene-Ottoman 'prayer' rug held in the Al Sabah collection, Kuwait, and the Safavid Fletcher 'niche' rug conserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Both are attributed to the mid 16th century.

Despite the fact that they have been thoroughly studied over time, their beauty still shines and marks a break-through in the weaving tradition of their countries and, indeed, a distinctive meaning may have been grafted in their patterns. Might some period circumstance explain the unique aura charging these two exemplars?

The second quarter of the 16th century saw increasing conflict between the two Islamic empires. The war began with the drastic defeat of Shah Ismail Safavid at Chaldiran (1514) and ended with the Peace of Amasya (1555) and a relatively good agreement for the Iranian part which had territorial authority recognised.

Politically much depended on the outcome of the conflict since the rise of the Safavid power in 1501 was threatening the international authority of the Ottomans and as well the internal solidity of the empire. The rise of a Shi' ite dynasty, in fact, would have diminished the just gained role of supreme Caliph of the Muslim world not to speak of the economic benefits this brought with it.

3-Disputed territories by Safavids and Ottomans

Likewise, it was in danger of triggering revolts from some heterodox groups living in the vast territory which struggled to accept a centralised control.

Various groups: Sufis, Shi'ites and Alevis were, in fact, undermining the solidity of the empire since its beginning. Finally, after alternating periods of tolerance and massacres Suleiman the Magnificent decided to eradicate these sects already declared heretical by Selim I. Practises were prohibited and new congregational mosques built to control the loyalty of the believers. These buildings aimed to represent a newly proclaimed Sunni orthodoxy against the heterodox rituals held in the urban charitable convents of Sufis and Shi'ites (zawjia mosques) as well as in the rural sacred houses of gathering of the Alevis (cemevi).

4-Bursa, charitable complex of the Great Mosque, 1396-99

5-Alevis cemevi, sacred house of gathering

Since the Seljuk period (1081-1307 roughly) sheyks and believers of Turkmen origin coming from Central Asia and Khurasan had adopted mystic versions of Islam which better reflected their ancient pre-Islamic roots. There were likewise a number of militant groups collectively termed Qizillbash leaning towards the Safavid Shi'ism as leading guide.

On the other hand the new congregational mosques built by the architect Sinan from the mid 16th century onward (more than 400 hundreds are recorded) were intended to officially proclaim the Holy Book as the only source of faith by means of centralised plan and inscriptions. They illustrated that only the Sunni law could guarantee the final reward (Heaven) to the pious and righteous.

It should be no surprise if rugs were purposely woven and conceived with the same conceit  in a court laboratory inspired by this aim.

The Al Sabah rug in this respect really seems to adhere to the new religious policy for it literally applies a Quran's sura where an architectural niche is called the symbol of God and a lamp hanging from the vault the divine light guiding to Heaven.

6-Quran's sura, in W. B. Denny, How to read Islamic carpets, The Metropolitan, 2014

If compared with earlier extant prayer rugs from Anatolia, the lush decorative ornamentation does not invalidate the two essential features described in the sura. Any other sign would seem unnecessary to the real understanding of the message and might be considered misleading and related to heterodox practises.

It is indeed impossible to reject the hypothesis that earlier prayer rugs (plate 7, 8, 9) could also reflect the complexity of Islam inherited earlier times. Many enclaves of Sufism, Shi'ism and Alevis were spread throughout  the numerous Turkmen population, mainly in the late Anatolian beyliks and in far distant regions of the empire. Yet, a rooted stronghold was represented as well in the core  by the Bektashi Sufi brotherhood. It is thought that such mystic brotherhoods embedded their original pre-Islamic beliefs in the structure and formalities of Islam and, obviously, they best flourished prior to the new religious policy.

Thus, some devices depicted in early rugs can be plausibly related to this inclusive religious context. Abstraction by means of geometry, talisman-like designs and 'odd' patterns (patterns difficult to explain such as the one in the 'Bellini' type and others) could likely express an embedded symbolism. That said, they did not stop to be woven because of the orthodox purge but now appeared intermittently.  Likewise  heterodox beliefs were hardly evicted from the whole territory.

7-Anatolian saf, 15th, TIEM, Istanbul

8-Anatolian  saf, 15th, TIEM, Istanbul

9-Anatolia, 'Bellini' prayer rug, late 15th, Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin

Nonetheless, despite the scarce number of replicas, the Al Sabah rug did long influence later regional output beginning from  some 'Transylvanian' rugs, and thereafter originating a steady river crossing fashions and periods.

10-Late 'Transylvanian' prayer rug, early 18th, The Walter Art Museum, Baltimore

11-The Fletcher Safavid niche rug

On the other side the Fletcher rug was woven in what wished to become a Shi'ite state.

The specific Shii'ism of the Twelver Imam was proclaimed state religion by Shah Ismail I when he was enthroned in Tabriz, 1501.

The first half of the 16th century saw the Safavids, originally raised a powerful Sufi brotherhood, trying to deal with the composite religious panorama of the reign. Despite the large majority of the population of Sunni belief, Iran was scattered with many millenarian mystic sects adhering to Sufism and Shi'ism in extremist guises.

The Safavids, and Ismail mostly, were taken advantage of the enthusiastic loyalty of the Sufi extremism proved by the Turkmen Qizillbash, who assisted in  several military campaigns. But their aim was to establish  the Twelver Shi'ism not quite conforming with such extremism. They aimed as well to incorporate the Persian notables in the bureaucracy and eradicate the religious connotation of the royal army. Twelver Shi'ism and Persian culture were, in fact, the two keys able to create a new national identity, distinct from other Muslim and Turkmen reigns.

Ismail and Thamasp had, thus, to fight against heterodox doctrines, whilse appeasing some, and also defend the claim to the Twelver Shi'ism declared heresy by the Ottoman Sultan, supreme Caliph of all Muslims.

Aside the fact that, unlike the Sunnite Ottoman, the Shi'ite empire did not seemingly develop a steady tradition for prayer rugs (see here 'The Niche, The Rug and The Throne'), the Safavid woven art introduced in the mid of the 16th century a large group of rugs patterned with a niche. The Fletcher seems to be the first of them. A most recent research attributes it to the beginning of the Qazvin period, the period of Qazvin capital (1548-1597), during which many similar 'niche rugs' were woven, usually grouped into the so-called Salting carpets.

Arts were already blossoming in the Safavid court of Tabriz.Yet, again, this design does not appear in the distinguished group of extant rugs attributed to the Tabriz period, the period of Tabriz first capital (1501-1547). Nonetheless, the Ottomans are known to have pillaged the Blue Mosque of Tabriz, 1541, taken rugs there held to Istanbul and thrown them on the floor of the Sultan's harem to be trashed with contempt. Who knows if 'niche rugs' were amid that booty and what designs they depicted.

The Salting type design of the Fletcher fairly diverges from the type of 'prayer rugs' previously painted in Persianate art.

12-14th/15th miniature, Persianate art

Aside the floral decoration properly matching the period Safavid style, the design displays some unique characteristics, namely the unrestrained inscriptions in borders and spandrels, and the subtly non architectural layout.

Quite curiously, the content of the inscriptions much differs from others in the group, inasmuch it refers only quotes from the Holy Book and invocations to the Almighty. Conversely, many of the Salting type are described as bearing also quotes from Persian poetry, historical texts, hadeeths, invocations to Ali and the Twelver.

It is known that the Safavid Twelver Shi' ism at the time had not a proper jurisprudence. Not one text on Shi' ite doctrine was found in Tabriz nor in other Iranian cities. As a consequence foreign jurists were invited to come and set a proper doctrine which yet was definitely established during the reign of Shah Abbas I (1587-1629).

One of the usual charges against the Safavids was their disrespect for and neglect of the Holy Book, as shown during the embassy receptions when Persian ambassadors could hardly reply to the constant questions on religious concerns. 

The significance of the Fletcher rug, filled with quotes of the Quran, may be clarified in this very context, for its displays, perhaps quite deliberately,   a strong claim to knowledge of Islam and the Holy Book . Not otherwise, in the occasion of the peace of Amasya (1555) the Shah made a point of presenting, among other lavish gifts, a fabulously copied Quran, itself a  noticeable proof of knowledge and respect concerning religious matters.

Such display of pageantry was accordingly suited to the cautious, splendid and grandiloquent words addressed to the Ottoman Padishah; indeed it was a most active agent in diplomatic negotiations where some ideological subtleties could have been conveyed only by these works of art.

14-The Paris Salting niche rug, Qazvin period

In turn, some of the Salting niche rugs are thought to have been amid the lavish gifts presented by Shah Thamasp in 1568 and 1574 to the newly elected Sultan Selim II and Murad III. Unsurprisingly, they bear some declarations of the Shi' ite doctrine as formalised in those years. Safavid diplomacy became accordingly more audacious, and the gorgeously painted Shahanameh of Shah Thamasp presented to Selim II was plausibly intended to illustrate the superiority of Persian culture as much as it was an endorsement of  Twelver Shi' ism.

13-The Karlsruhe Salting niche rug, Qazvin period

Quite interestingly, a comparison with the woven inscriptions is to be found in the two mosques Shah Abbas I had built in Isfahan, his new capital (1558-1622). The new monarch dramatically reversed diplomatic relations with the historical enemy from the appeasing behaviour of Shah Thamasp. Abbas also decided to resolve the controversies by recruiting a new pool of foreign jurists to conceive a definitive Shi'ite jurisprudence. This would have completely legitimised his right to rule over the Shia and his empire. And, the Shi'ite believers would have finally had their 'Supreme Caliph' and right to exist within the Islamic world.

The jurists, again, sourced the doctrinal pillars from Persian poetry, historical texts and hadeeths. The unrestrained long inscriptions on the tiled walls of the Lotfollah and the Shah mosque (respectively built 1603-1619 and 1611-1631) adding with invocations to Ali, the Infallibles and the Shah constitute indeed a theological treatise.

Ultimately, on the Lotfollah mosque mihrab the perfect loyalty to Ali is claimed to be the real prerequisite to enter Jannah (Heaven) .

15- Lotfollah mosque, mihrab, early 17th

As regarding the last characteristic of these rugs, the niche, a little investigation may shed more light on the complex scenario of the period.

The specific shape (a narrow neck opening in a drop-like vault possibly three lobed) is not usually found as a mihrab type in both Anatolian and Iranian. architecture. Conversely, it is a common motif gracing Timurid tile revetments from the 14th century onward (plate 16). Furthermore, its lobed shape may remind the Asian cloud collar motif (plate 17), a circle with four similar protruding forms, which is thought to represent the Sky-Gate, the equivalent to the Islamic Doorway to Jannah. Interestingly enough, the artist did not chose an 'architectural niche' as devised in the Quran's sura, but a design which could mingle such diverse contents.

Indeed the early ideology of the Safavid monarchy combined Sufi, Shi'ite and eschatological ideas. The Shah claimed to be and was regarded as the Hidden Imam, the Redeemer of the Islamic History or his Deputy with unlimited worldly and supernatural powers. As well Ismail and Thamasp tried to present themselves in the Persian traditional way as the Shadow of God on the Earth. That said, this multiple sacred symbology, God-Redeemer-Shah, seems to be rightly exposed in and by the niche, the most proper place to the hierophany according to both Islamic and pre-Islamic beliefs.

A curious confirmation of the niche symbology might likewise be offered   also by another place dedicated to the hierophany of the heavenly appointed monarch, the throne. In the Persian and Persianate tradition its back has infact mostly a trefoil shape possibly related to the same conceit of Sky-Gate (plate 18) (again see here 'The Niche, the Rug and the Throne').

In conclusion, it is thus plausibly to assume that the two designs of the Cairene Ottoman and Safavid rug do have a similar symbology, yet express quite different cultural and religious milieu as the subtleties in their designs would declare.

16- Timurid tile 14th

17-Late Timurid cloud collar

17 - Chinese cloud collar

18 - Gengis Khan, Rashid al Din miniature, 1247-1318

                                             
                                               -----------------------------------------------------





Bibliographic references
Akin, G., The Muezzin Mahfili and Pool in the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, Muqarnas, Vol. 12 page 63, edited by G. Neciplogu.
Arnak, S. Gifts in Motion, Ottoman-Safavid Cultural Exchange, 1501-1618, University of Minnesota, 2012.
Arjomand S., Religious Extremism(Ghuluww), Sufism and Sunnism in Safavid Iran. 1501-1722,
Journal of Asian History,Vol. 15, No. 1 (1981), pp. 1-35.
Black A., The History of Islamic Political Thought: From the Prophet to the Present, Edinburgh Press, 2011.
Cammann S., The Symbolism of the Cloud Collar Motif Author, The Art Bulletin, Vol. 33, No. 1 , pp. 1-9, The College Art Association (Mar., 1951).
Canby S. R., Shah 'Abbas; the Remaking of Iran, London, 2009.
Dressler, M., Writing Religion: The Making of Turkish Alevis Islam, Oxford University Press, 2013.
Ellis C. G., Oriental Carpets in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, 1988.
Franses M., "Some Wool Pile Persian-Design Niche Rugs," Oriental Carpet and Textile Studies, volume V, part 2, Danville, California, 1999, pp. 47 and 99.
Franses M. and Bennett I, “The Topkapi Prayer Rugs,”Hali, Issue 39.
Kuprulu, M. F,. The History of Turkish Literature, 1980, (1920-21).
Mills J., The Salting Group: a History and Clarification, OCTS, 5 II, 1999.
Murray L. Eiland, Jr. and Robert Pinner, eds., Oriental Carpet and Textile Studies, vol. V, part 2: The Salting Carpets,ICOC, 1999, pp. 42-67.
Necipoğlu G., The age of Sinan: architectural culture in the Ottoman Empire,  Princeton University Neciplogu, G., Religious Inscriptions on the Great Mosques, http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic570061.files/articles/Religious_Inscriptions.pdf Press, 2005 (Quranic Inscriptions on Sinan's Mosques: A Comparison with their Safavid and Mughal Counterparts. in Word of God, Art of Man, edFahmida Suleman, London 2007).
Tezcan U. and Rogers J. M., ed., The Topkapi Saray Museum, Boston, 1987.
The Amasya Peace Treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Iran (June 1, 1555) Bullettin of the georgia National Academy of Sciences, vol. 3, no. 1, 2009.
Thompson J., Milestones in the History of Carpets, Milan, 2006, pp. 220-223.
"Auction Price Guide," Hali, Issue 144, p. 115.

A Universe Apart

Esprit de geometrie and esprit de finesse are deeply assimilated in Oriental carpets. History, documentary evidence and research are, in fact, inextricably melted into artistic merits. To be able to discern and enjoy them all is hard yet fulfilling.

Rugs display two different styles due to tradition, culture and technical requirements, namely the geometric (plate 1) and curvilinear design (plate 2). Both they affect the visual perception of western eye, conveying different empathic reactions which accordingly suit to one's sensitivity. 

1 - The Marby rug, Anatolia, 15th (?), Museum of National Antiquities, Stockholm

2 - The Anhalt carpet, Safavid Iran, 16th,The  Metropolitan Mueseum of Art

While it is fairly easy to give reason of historical, technical and artistic merits, it is hard to realize and account for the sensitive effect a rug provokes any time it comes across the eyes. Nevertheless, we are challenged to make a choice, wherein expert advice and personal inclination are the only guides to follow.

Collectors, connoisseurs and amateurs,  all them share the same curiosity in different scales. All them as well are aware of the decorative merits of rugs, which, far from diminishing their value, do convey the primary desire of Beauty. Whether a famed artist or an obscure nomad, the weaver struggled to grab its elusive essence and embody it in a real image. Just this process rises the artifact to the rank of treasure, where colour, design, material and symbol join together and cause artistic uniqueness (plate 3).

3 - Central Anatolia, XVIII (?), MATM

Rugs happened to be made and used in most of Eastern regions often stereotyped as 'Orient' and mostly parallelling the wide belt traced by the Silk Roads (plate 4). Otherwise, the numerous types account for as many cultures and traditions. The actual differences among them have deep origins hard to summarize in a short context, yet a few facts can shed some light. 

4 - The Silk Roads

In all social classes the rug's appearance reflected the complex of art, culture and tradition to which the weaver belonged, that is one's own identity. Generally speaking, the eastern cultural identities in the early modern period were set and defined by leading dynasties (as the Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal) which conceived and elaborated distinguishing styles in their laboratories so to create a new official artistic vocabulary and assimilate the diversities. 

5 - Ottoman Cairene carpet, Ottoman culture, 16th

6 - The Bardini medallion carpet fragment, Safavid Iran, 16th, Museo Bardini 

7 - Pashmina fragment, Mughal India, 17th, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Although spread over the large territory, they at times coexisted with deeply rooted iconographies as well ethnic traditions. Furthermore, trade and political relations contributed to transmit models to faraway countries and cause unexpected influences. The following pictures show how the famous Iranian 'Garden' theme (Chahar Bag) masterfully depicted in a Safavid Kirman carpet has been later developed and possibly influenced a 19th century rug in Central Asia. (plate 8, 9, 10)

8 - The Wagner Garden carpet, Kirman, mid 17th, Glasgow

9 - Garden rug, Moghan, 19th, A. Boralevi courtesy

10 - Garden pattern derived rug, Central Asia, 19th, S. Ozen courtesy

Since early times the city populace could enjoy and appropriate the artistic language seen in the decorative apparatus of the buildings which the royal agency made available (madrasas, mosques, mausoleums, caravansaries, baths). Inspired by them, many textiles were accordingly depicted following court demand and thereafter creating a taste. 

11 - The Green Mosque, Bursa, first quarter of the 15th

12 - The Stroganoff medallion Ushak, western Turkey, late 15th

A similar process spread in the smaller villages too, where yet the influence was looser and the artisans could integrate the models to the local tradition. 

13 - Village rug, Ushak type, 16th, in Zipper-Fritzsche-Jourdan, Tappeti orientali tirchi e turcomanni, plate 80

In turn, the nomadic people, proud with their life, had seldom contacts with the urban milieu, rather clinging to their ancestral beliefs and customs which were plausibly hidden in their woven vocabulary. As influenced later on by urban design, they partly reworked them in the traditional vocabulary often echoing an almost vanished animal style bond to the ancestral and per-Islamic lifeworld.

Religions were as well a further source for decorative motifs  both scattered in the pattern and completely informing it. While plate 1 likely refers to the sacred Tree of Life flanked by two Birds, messengers of a supernatural spirit, the Prayer or Nice design is one of the most famous pattern connected with a religious or spiritual meaning (plate 14). 

14 - Bellini prayer rug, Turkey, late 15th, Berlin Museum of  Islamic Arts

All these weavings are gifted the talent to express an individual artistic vocabulary in the flow of a given tradition.

However, any attempt to classify oriental rugs should remark an important point that is the pervasive Turkic lineage of the weavers in the area encompassed by the Near East and the western borders of China. The Turkic lineage is in fact represented in Anatolia, Caucasus, Persia, west and east Turkestan. A passionate eye will be fascinated identifying the appearance of similar motifs in different provenances, although disguised by different sensitivity, technical requirements and distance.

Post Scriptum

The 19^th century is thought to be a turning point for the Oriental rug output for the eastern empires had to front the pervasive European influence, though in different times. Notwithstanding, numerous exceptions of resilience are to be discovered in any deeply rooted tradition as well secluded areas. This is the reason why History is so much important, it helps recognising longtime symbols.

The Niche, the Rug and the Throne

1 - The Fletcher 'Salting' niche rug, Qazvin (?), 1560s (?)

The niche pattern appears to have been depicted on oriental carpets since the late 14th century as proved by period miniatures. They represent the prophet and other holy characters in the act of speaking and teaching on a niche patterned textile. In later Islamic paintings high rank characters as well are depicted kneeling and bowing in the act of praying.

2 - Timurid miniature, Persia, 14th-15th 

The sacred symbolism of the niche applied to rugs was seemingly developed by sufism, the mystic branch of Islam spread since the medieval times in many eastern regions.

Although the niche in Islamic countries literally depicts the mihrab featured in the qibla wall of the mosque, its ancient architectural source overarches many cultures and religions. It is always  imbued with deep symbolic meaning conveying the idea of a space reserved to secular and religious power.

The sunnite version of Islam apparently spread the use of a rug for  kneeling on and fronting it during the ritual prayer. Conversely, the shi'ism, diffuse mainly in Persia from the beginning of the Safavid reign (1501), used a stone for this religious function.

Far from dismissing the importance of the niche pattern in Persian rugs, it is interesting to search for its distinctive meaning. The design appeared twice in the history of Persian rugs, namely in the Safavid period (16th) and in the mid 18th. As many sources and functions can be applied to it.

The religious character of the Safavid dynasty was one primary point inflaming the soon to be developed contest with the Ottoman empire bordering to the west. The Sultan as early as the mid 16th century conquered the holy places of Medina and Mecca, being then entitled  supreme Caliph of all Islam. Furthermore, the defeat of the Mamluk reign and the beginning of the 'Ottoman Age of Exploration' towards the Indian Ocean created an unprecedented consciousness of the empire world role in religious, political and commercial concerns.

The rise of the Safavid power challenged the subsistence as such of the Sultan leadership in as much their commercial interests were colliding with each other. The religious question added a very sensitive argument to the duel, for the Sultan and his jurists discredited the divine legitimacy of the Safavid power. Since the military means of the Ottoman Sultan were larger, the 16th century resulted in a continuous wearying period of alternating war and peaceful times.

3 - Ottoman empire, map, 1606

The diplomatic relations, as used, were characterised by repeat exchange of embassies, letters and gifts. In the Ottoman letters two specific points always argued with were the heresy of the  shi'ism with respect to Islam, and its disrespect for the Kuran.
All along the turmoil period the Safavid replies, more or less placatory, were focusing on the Shah's legitimate power both via religious as well historical evidence. Therefore, gifts and letters were always peppered with Kuran quotes  devoted to attest to the legitimacy of the Twelver shi'ism .

Considering that the shi'ism at that early period had not yet reached a codification as to habits, rules and organisation, the religious debates at the Sultan's court were at times confusing the Shah's ambassador and causing new arguments to subsequently appease.

As a result the Shah's embassies were always conceived so as to enlighten and impose the Persian cultural and artistic supremacy by means of exceptionally splendid gifts. This perspective can hopefully explain the nature of a very distinctive group of rugs depicted with a niche pattern and characterised by unprecedented features.

Commonly referred to as 'Salting' rugs, they are now firmly supposed to have been woven in the royal laboratories of Qazvin, the new capital of the Safavid reign soon thereafter the peace of Amasya (1555) signed by Suleyman and Thamasp. Though humiliating with a few aspects, the treaty assured a relatively peaceful period to Persia.

Carpets are recorded to have been amidst the stunningly wealthy gifts presented to the Ottoman Sultan  by Shah Thamasp. 

The niche rugs at issue bear inscriptions dedicated to the Shah, his divine power as well quotes from the Kuran related to the Twelver. Such manifest ideological contents are at all new in rugs which in such way would appear to have directly contributed to the cultural contest between the two monarchs.
The same meaning had the Shahnamah of Shah Thamasp, the  'Book of Kings'. This masterwork, possibly the most luxuriously illustrated story of the Persian epic, was presented along with other splendid gifts in 1568 for the accession to the throne of the new Sultan Selim II.

4 - The Karlsruhe 'Salting' niche rug, Qazvin (?), 16th, second half (?)

The woven inscriptions could have been inspired by some specific image the Persian ambassadors came across visiting Istanbul during their visit. They were in fact obliged to take part to propagandist tours displaying the wealth and power of the Sultan. One particular detail could not evade their attention nor the zealous accounts of the guides.
A must to be visited place was obviously the magnificent Suleiman's mosque built in 1550-57 on the top of whose main portal a large inscription welcomed visitors. Written by the period eminent ottoman jurist Ebusuud, it addressed the Sultan as the one and only supreme Caliph of the Arabs and Persians.

5 - Suleiman's mosque, main portal, Istanbul

Curiously enough, the inscriptions on the aforementioned rugs apparently reply to this statement in a sort of ideological challenge. The Shah was conscious that the carpets would not have been dismissed nor dispraised even by the Ottoman jurists for they bore some sacred Kuran's quotes. From then on they were held in some depot of the royal palace and never displayed nor used.

6 -  The Ballard  Cairene-Ottoman coupled column rug, 16th, third quarter

These Safavid rugs strongly distinguish themselves from the analogue Ottoman 'prayer rugs'. The latters are very much imbued with Ottoman architectural features and possibly influenced in the earliest phase by late Byzantine models, namely barley twist columns, Corinthians capitals and round arch. A cosmopolitan culture, as the one enjoyed in Istanbul from the 15th century, can not exclude as well other foreign influences. European paintings and architectural treatises were, in fact, available in the royal library, albeit these rugs sport distinctive Islamic features. Indeed they belong to a brand new aesthetic, synthesis and codification of an array of filtered experiences.

7 - The Al Sabah Cairene-Ottoman niche rug, 16th, second half

8 - Bursa, Green Mosque, tile mihrab, 1420s

The Persian rugs are, in turn, sporting some of the most typical designs of the new gorgeous Safavid style: cloud band all around, palmette and cartouche in the border, and the only by then typical ton sur ton use of colour. The architectural device as well seems to be quite rare for its vault shape is not recorded in carpets and textiles from earlier miniatures. Yet, these masterpieces deserve a further investigation.

Historical documents attest that in the early phase of the reign the Safavids did not build great complexes, still having a peripatetic court. They conversely enjoyed the available buildings scattered in the territory for they suited to their religious inclination to a mystic and ecstatic islam. Many of them were built during the Ilkhanid time and characterised by the typical sufi 'waqf',  a charitable complex. Others were reflecting the architectural features of the Timurid style. The Blue Mosque in Tabriz dated to the mid 15th is one instance due to the artistic patronage of the Turkmen Qara Quyunlu. 

Apparently, a similarity does exist between the niche shape in the Safavid rugs and the one conceived in various architectural sections of Timurid buildings.
One specific appears rather close to that depicted in the rugs. It is characterised by a trefoil cusp, a narrow bottle neck and a shortened niche.

9 - Timurid tile, Samarkand, late 14th, trefoil arched niche

11 -  'Salting'  niche rug, late 16th  (?)

While the trefoil vault in rugs was usually replaced by a drop-like shape or a slightly petalled profile, the bottleneck is a distinctive mark. The niche rarely appears so shortened, but it never displays the proportions seen in the typical mihrabs where the vault is never so stretched.

10 -  The Fletcher 'Salting' niche rug, Qazvin (?), 1560s (?)

This pattern did not  leave a legacy to be developed in the following centuries. In the 17th century the Safavid rugs sported, in fact, an array of patterns based on floral composition, compartment, lattice and the usual medallion, the niche type being very rare. In its turn, the 18th century represents an obscure period as for rug production.

13 - Indian rug, small scale floral field, late 17th

Various political turmoils caused the fall of the Safavids and the rise of new dynasties, the Zand and the Afsharid. Period paintings reveal a new trend towards small scale floral patterns arranged by lattice, small medallions and a dense textured design. The Herati and Mina Khani design are two such motifs. A similar trend appears almost concurrently in Turkish rugs. It is easy to argue an Indian influence in as much Indian rugs did develop early in the 18th century this sort of style later sublimated in the 'millefleur' type.

12 - Nader Shah on a carpet, 18th, first half

   

In the mid to late 18th century niche rugs of the Indian millefleur type began to be woven in Persia. Obviously, a few variations in both pattern and decoration are to be seen because of the necessary melting into different decorative traditions. Nevertheless, some distinctive features are commonly saved, namely two cypresses sustaining a multilobed vault, a hillock sporting a vase of flowers laying on a vessel, and finally a densely textured floral design arranged by thin vines crowned on the top with a large sunflower. Ferahan and Sarouk are the usual provenances, while in South Persia the skillful Qashqay weavers are responsible for a large group of exemplars.

15 - Millefleur niche rug, Sarouk, 19th first half

14 - The Mc Mullan Millefleur niche rug, India, late 18th

16 -Qashqay  Millefleur niche rug, Persia, 19th, second half

Meanwhile, Tehran, the new capital of the Persian empire, was experiencing the Qajar efforts at reshaping the monarchy reputation on both the Safavid 'Golden Age' and European features as well.
In the second half of the  19th century other niche rugs began to appear in Persia. The vault shape can vary and the field be graced by numerous designs as the tree of life, mythological animals and trees, a vase sprouting flowers, small scale floral patterns and pictorial designs. These rugs indeed show an incredible array of motifs as a sort of index of carpet designs. It really seems that a passion for this design was suddenly grown.

17 - Kerman niche rug, 19th second half

18 - Kerman niche rugs, late 19th

This production is apparently unrelated to the Safavid niche group, the design plausibly developed from the millefleur type and later assimilated the western commercial requests. Nonetheless, we again miss a real knowledge of  the early Qajar rugs. 

Even so, an essential event can have favoured the niche pattern to surface once more at a certain point in the 18th/19th century, that is the arrival of the magnificent booty from the sack of Dehli, 1739. The splendorous Peacock Throne was possibly the most illustrious piece. Commissioned by Shah Jahan in the early 1600, immediately gained a large fame because of its gorgeous beauty and richness. Destroyed in 1747 at the death of Nadir Shah, it left a long lasting memory for many replica were made by the subsequent Persian Shahs. The Qajar rulers (1781-1925) themselves are known to have commissioned several thrones inspired by the original features, although finally diverging.

19 - Shah Jahan on the Peacock Throne,  early 17th

  

20 -  Fath Ali Shah throne, the Sun Throne, 19th first quarter

The throne, obviously, is an important symbol of any monarchy, but it did have a unique role in Persia.

By the ancient Iranian mythology it is imbued with a divine power which is directly conveyed to the monarch. Since at least the Ilkhanid times the backrest sports a distinctive shape, a trefoil form referring to  the Chinese cloud collar and the sacred connection between earth and heaven. The motif continued to be one peculiar feature passing through the Timurid times into the Mughal art.
Interestingly enough, the niche pattern does match this symbology as since time immemorial it represented a revered sacred space.

Therefore one can claim the niche with a trefoil vault to be one most meaningful and powerful device of kingship.

21 - Throne of Eshmoun, Greco/Persian art

22 - Ilkhanid Persia, Gengis Khan enthroned, Rashid al Din

No wonder if the Qajar rulers in the effort at reshaping the authority of the monarchy revived long passed traditions. The Peakock throne, and its trefoil backrest, was obviously one essential symbol of the monarchic power. As a result, the niche possibly gained an unprecedented political and social appeal. The royal trend, in fact, was likely conveyed to the bourgeoisie amid which the niche began to be one appreciated complement in a house display, the religious meaning definitely dismissed.
The commercial requests reshaped once more this noble tradition.

23 - 'Motashem' Keshan niche rug, late 19th

                                                       -----------------------------------------

Bibliographic references

Arcak, Sinem., Gifts in Motion: Ottoman-Safavid Cultural exchange, 1501-1618, University of Minnesota, 2012.
Canby, Sheila, R., Shah Abbas, The Remaking of Iran, London 2009.
Casale, G., The Age of Ottoman Exploration, Oxford University Press, 2010.

Denny, W., Saff and Sejjadeh: Origin and Meanings of the Prayer Rug, OCTS III/2.

Franses, M., The Darius of the World "Tiger" Carpet and the Garden of Paradise, Poldi Pezzoli Milano, 2014.
Idem, Some Wool-Pile Persian-Design Niche Rugs, OCTS V.
Franses and Bennet, The Topkapi Prayer Rugs, Hali 39.
Gombos, K., Ascetics, Dervishes and Prayer Rugs: Old Oriental Prayer Rugs, 1984.
Mills, J., The Salting Group: History and a Clarification, OCTS V.
Murray Lee Eiland III, Salting Carpets, New Scholarship, Ghereh 20.
Prayer Rugs, The Early History, Use and Iconography of the Prayer Rug, by Ettinghausen, Dimand, Mackie, Ellis, Textile Museum, Washington, 1974.
The Salting Carpets,by Eiland and Pinner, OCTS V/2
Thompson, J., Milestones in the History of Carpets, Milan 2006. 
"Auction Price Guide," Hali, issue 144, p. 115 and Sheila R. Canby, Shah 'Abbas; the Remaking of Iran, London, 2009, pp. 80-81.