Eṣfahān Carpet

Eṣfahān carpet, floor covering handwoven in Eṣfahān (Isfahan), a city of central Iran that became the capital under Shāh ʿAbbās I at the end of the 16th century. Although accounts of European travelers reveal that court looms turned out carpets there in profusion, their nature is unknown except for silken Polonaise carpets, many of which were surely made there. In trade, the names Eṣfahān and Indo-Eṣfahān were long applied to a host of 17th-century floral carpets in wool, many of enormous size. Later, these carpets were attributed by art historians to Herāt and, more recently, to Indian centres. The Eṣfahān theory still persists in some quarters, however.

Carpet weaving was revived in Eṣfahān in the second quarter of the 20th century and expanded rapidly in the production of exports of excellent quality and designs for the European market. Many of the patterns are created by professional designers, beautifully drawn with swirling vines or arabesques, usually on a cream ground and with a hard brick-red border. The carpets are closely clipped and thin. The knotting is asymmetrical, the foundation cotton or silk, depending on the quality. Somewhat similar carpets in extremely fine weaving have been produced in the mid-20th century in Nāʾīn.