Sickle-Leaf, Vine Scroll and Palmette Carpet – Inspired by the World’s Most Expensive Carpet (William A. Clark 1600s Safavid Masterpiece)


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Inspired by a Safavid “Sickle-Leaf, Vine Scroll and Palmette” carpet from the William A. Clark Collection, dating to the Shah Abbas period (early 17th century). The original masterpiece is the most expensive carpet ever sold at auction, achieving a total price of $43.8 million including commissions and fees.

Click here to view the historical Clark Corcoran Safavid Sickle Leaf carpet

Code: SFV018

Size: 225 x 380 cm

Size (ft): 7' 5" × 12' 6"

Area: 8.55 m²

Density: 165 000 knots per square meter, totally ~1 400 000 knots

Colors: medium red, ivory, soft yellow, sky blue, midnight blue, dark brown, light brown, medium brown, khaki, coral, cinnamon, maroon, sage green.

Dyes: madder, weld (Reseda Luteola), onion skins, indigo, pomegranate skins, walnut husks, natural dark brown sheep wool, natural ivory sheep wool.

Materials: Handcarded and handspun wool for pile, ivory wool warps and white cotton wefts (two shots). 1cm of flatwoven kilim ends at both sides. - wool on wool

Knots: Gördes (Turkish, symmetrical)

Pile height: ~0.6 cm

Ends: single knotted fringes

Weavers: Leyla, Arzu, Aynur, Seljan

Weaving Period: 4 months (by 4 weavers)

Handwoven in Azerbaijan

Design: Inspired by the celebrated 17th-century “Sickle-Leaf, Vine Scroll and Palmette” carpets of the Shah Abbas period, this work reinterprets one of the most sophisticated achievements of Safavid court weaving. The composition is formed by a highly complex network of swirling vines, serrated sickle-leaves, palmettes, flowering branches, cloudbands, and elegant cypress trees — all layered to create a remarkable sense of movement, depth, and vitality.

The design draws particular inspiration from the famous carpet formerly in the William A. Clark Collection, admired for decades by scholars as one of the finest surviving examples of Safavid carpet art and later becoming the most expensive carpet ever sold at auction.

Like the historic original, this reinterpretation reflects the Safavid vision of the paradise garden: a world of abundance, immortality, and splendor expressed through vivid color, intricate drawing, and richly interwoven floral forms.

Watch the video of Mary Jo Otsea, a curator from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, discussing the Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet’s dramatic design and rich historical significance

For more information about the above rug or to place an order please email vd@azerbaijanrugs.com
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