1550 / 1600, Iran

1550 / 1600, Iran

Identifier
79-1877
Collection
Material
Technique
Depiction
Dimension
5 cm (depth)
28 cm (diameter)
8 cm (height)
Production time
Production place
Type of object

Description

Middle East, Textile; Round cover panel, wool twill with surface-darning wool embroidery, Safavid-style design of seated drinkers, trees and peacocks set around a central fishpond, possibly NW Iran, 1550-1600 with later re-touching Woven wool twill embroidered with wool in straight stitches. The sides are turned under and stitched. The upper edge is also turned under and stitched; the lower edge has 3 cm without weft and then a 2 cm band of plain weave, thus forming the loom-end of a length. This cover is made from three pieces joined together before being embroidered: two strips about 9.5 cm wide have been added, one along each side. This can only be clearly seen along the lower edge. There is a circle in the middle and slightly more than half of this motif has been repeated half way down each of the four sides. In each corner is a long diagonally place boteh. The circles contain a central eight-pointed star. At each point there is a white outlined boteh and in each indentation there is a cypress tree. These are all enclosed in a frame forming points against the circular edge. Between the points is a green alternating with light blue roundel, which probably represents a carnation. The botehs are long with a long curling tip; alternate ones face left. Each contains a small cypress tree and two pairs of botehs. The most dominant feature is a stem which starts below the boteh, lies along its centre and then splits, curves up and out and down and terminates in a green round carnation. There is a border along all four sides: small vertical cypress trees with leaning botehs either side. There is no definite upper edge to this border pattern - it seems to end suddenly and rather discordantly. There is a narrow outer border edging in white, consisting of a meander with orange and red carnations and blue 6-petalled flowers. Occasionally some under drawing can be seen. There are places on the ground that have been dyed purple and this is part of the pattern, creating areas of purple in the design. Colour (Embroidery threads, 2S-plied wool): orange, black, blue, green, white, dark red, dark blue.