The city of Tabriz in the far northwest of Persia has been a leading center for the production of the finest rugs and carpets since the fourteenth century if not earlier. By 1500 it had emerged as a major capital of Safavid power and many of the carpet masterpieces of this period were made there. During the great revival of rug weaving in the nineteenth century Tabriz still maintained this long and distinguished tradition, and so it comes as no surprise that it could still produce the finest luxury carpets in the classical Persian or Safavid style, like this extraordinary small carpet made entirely in silk. What is perhaps so extraordinary about this example is the lush, almost western or ‘baroque’ treatment of its floral detail, above all the voluminous, supple golden vegetal vinescrolls that outline and define the main design features of the field. At the center of the composition they articulate the main medallion by enclosing and rounding off its four-petalled design. In a similar way they define the undulating contours of the dark blue ground cornerpieces against the intervening open space of the burnt orange field. The bold macro outlines of the medallion and the surrounding cornerpieces contrast nicely with the delicate interior floral detail of both. This contrast in scale is echoed yet again by the system of minor and main borders, whose interior floral elements are all more finely detailed, although the share the coloration and color contrast of the field. The result is a marvelous balance of unity and variation whose color effects are maximized by the luminous quality of the silk pile.
