An Ambassador of Iranian Art to World Museums: Tabriz Carpets from the Safavid era

Iranian carpet industry is thousands of years old. The carpet has decorated a wide range of spaces from the nomadic tents to the royal courts and palaces. Its importance has drawn many enthusiasts from abroad. The boom and bust in the carpet market has been subject to the overall economy and trade of the country. Since the 10th century A.H. i.e., the establishment of the Safavid dynasty in Iran, carpet was deemed as an important industry and a venerable form of art. The current article attempts to shed light on Tabriz carpets and reveal their trace in world museums and discuss the reason for their desirability. Through descriptive-analytical method and by means of library and online sources made available by western museums the author has sought to first, put the importance and status of Tabriz carpet in its proper context in the Safavid era, and then assess its export to foreign countries.