Rasht-style prayer rug from Iran

Prayer rug from Iran, Rasht-style inlay work, 19th century. Prayer rug from Iran, Rasht-style inlay work, 19th century. Courtesy Cleveland Museum of Art, acc. no. 1916.1297.

The Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio, houses an Iranian prayer rug with inlay patchwork in the Rasht tradition. It measures 195 x 133 cm and is made of wool and woollen inlays, with silk thread embroidery worked in chain stitch. A large representation of a cypress tree occupies the centre of the rug, placed on top of peacocks and dragon heads.

Inlay patchwork is typical for the traditional decorative technique of Rasht, in northern Iran. Compare the Qajar-era tent panel now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (acc. no. 858-1892), and the royal tent of Muhammad Shah Qajar, also in the Cleveland Museum of Art (acc. no. 2014.388). 

Cleveland Museum of Art online catalogue (retrieved 3rd September 2017).

WV

Last modified on Thursday, 13 May 2021 18:12
Published in Religious vestments and other textiles
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