Late Ak Koyunlu or Early Safavid period medallion carpet, probably Tabriz, Azerbaijan. late 15th - early 16th century. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

DIMENSIONS: Overall: 217.2 x 516 cm (85 1/2 x 203 1/8 in.)

ACCESSION NUMBER: 65.595

MEDIUM OR TECHNIQUE: Wool and cotton; wool pile

NOT ON VIEW

COLLECTIONS: Asia, Textiles and Fashion Arts

Wool and cotton fabric, wool pile. Geometric design in field of quatrefoils and star-like motifs. Colors in field are red, white, yellow, and blue. Center of medallion predominantly orange. Borders predominantly blue with orange, red, yellow and white. Border shows stylized floral design. Condition: pile worn but design preserved. Some repairs in fabric.

Provenance: By 1907, C.F. Williams, PA [see note 1]. By 1940, with French & Company, Inc., New York [see note 2]. 1965, purchased from French & Company by the MFA (Accession date: May 12, 1965)

NOTES: [1] The carpet was on loan to the MFA from Mr. Williams from 1907 to 1908.

[2] See Richard Ettinghausen, "'Six Thousand Years of Persian Art:' the Exhibition of Iranian Art," Ars Islamica, Vol. 7, No. 1 (1940), p. 109, where this carpet is referred to as being lent by French & Co. The carpet remained with French & Co. at least until 1947, when it was included in "An Exhibition of Antique Oriental Rugs" at the Art Institute of Chicago (probably #24 in that catalogue).

Credit Line
William Francis Warden Fund