An Overview of Gurkanid Carpets in India (Case Study of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York)

The history of cultural, political and trade relations between India and Iran dates back to pre-Islamic times and this interaction is very significant in some periods, including the Sassanid and Safavid periods. This relationship became very strong during the Safavid period between the two countries. Homayoun, Emperor of India during the reign of Mughal (d. 1556/964) took refuge in the Safavid court in Tabriz in 1544/951. His presence led to important consequences in the development of Mongolian art and designs in the field of textile and carpet design. Observing samples of surviving carpets from the Gurkhani period in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, it is clear that Indian carpets at that time were influenced by Iranian samples. This article tries to answer these questions by introducing samples of Indian carpets from the Gurkhani period that are available in the Metropolitan Museum. 1- Which group of designs do the designs and patterns of Indian carpets in the Metropolitan Museum include? 2- Are the designs used in these rugs based on the Iranian carpet pattern? 3- In the time of Gurkhanids, which designs appeared on Indian carpets under the influence of what factors? The purpose of this study was to introduce the samples of Indian-Gurkhani carpets in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and to study the plant motifs in these samples. The influence of Safavid Iranian art on the formation, stylization in Indian carpet designs during the Gurkhanids, to the extent that for a long time woven carpets with Hindu-Iranian letters were introduced in the market and the study and recognition of plant motifs The use of Indian rugs in design at that time was a necessity that led the researcher to write this article.

In the present research, which has been done by descriptive-analytical method, an attempt has been made to answer the mentioned questions of the research by using Persian and Latin sources and reviewing the information. For this purpose, 8 samples of Indian carpets from the northern Indian subcontinent (Fatah Poursikiri, Lahore, Agra and Kashmir) have been selected. The statistical population includes Indian carpets from the Gurkhani period at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Since the carpets in this museum almost comprehensively included all kinds of plant and animal motifs, size, color and from most of the famous cities in the field of carpet weaving in India, these 8 examples are among the other examples. Have been selected and reviewed. 

There is no trace of Homayoun''s carpets, but there is evidence that he hired Iranian weavers and copied Iranian carpets. There are also documents that show that Homayoun imported carpets from his cities such as Joshqan, Kerman and Sabzevar for his court and palaces and the elders of India. (Rakhshan and Yushasp Goshe, 1397: 111) "Undoubtedly, these carpets became the model of many Indian carpet designs at that time." (Jouleh, 1381: 213) The most famous carpets that entered India from Iran were Herati Khorasan carpets, which were generally known as Isfahan carpets. Since production in carpet factories during the Akbarshah period did not meet the needs of the Indian market, carpets were also imported from Iran and the import of Iranian carpets to India continued until the time of Aurangzeb. (Welch, 1373: 15). It seems that this migration caused what Iran had throughout the 10th / 16th century AD during the reign of Shah Abbas, to be transferred to Lahore and Agra in India. (Welch, 1385: 28). Thus, the Indian style was formed with the continuation of Indian Gurkhani art and the transfer of the art of the early Iranian Safavid schools.Discourse sonnet is a branch of discourse poetry in Persian classic poetry.The use of Shah Abbasi flowers and animals in the main background and border is one of the common styles in Persian carpets of the Safavid period (Figure 2) with the presence of images of legendary animals such as Simorgh among images of natural animals such as lions and deer. The deer and the use of bright colors were patterned in the Indian style, as seen in Figure 3. "The presence of a congress-like role in the laurel and the side of the carpet is one of the characteristics of East Azerbaijan carpets, which can also be seen in this Indian carpet, and this document indicates the influence of Iranian art on India" (Vakili, 2003: 184) (Figure 3)According to the history of Abolfazl, during the reign of Akbar Shah (1556/1605) and under the personal support of the Shah in Agra, Fatehpour and Lahore, handmade carpet production workshops with Iranian style designs with designs of Kerman, Kashan, Isfahan and Herat With the introduction of naturalistic designs of plants and flowers in these carpets, a special Mongolian style was gradually created. (Allami, 1977: 57) Creative weavers who had traveled from Iran to India, by producing their artistic masterpieces, caused trade Carpets flourished in India and thus settled there (Dimand, 1970: 180).In the time of Shah Jahan, there was a widespread presence of a new style that showed the characteristics of natural flowering plants in the background of a surface or in a row of flowers. The types of flowers are naturally displayed in a lattice pattern. This style did not appear suddenly in the art of this period, but it was also used in the time of Akbarshah, but with the difference that in the period of Shah Jahan, the motifs were completely naturalistic and flowering plants were shown in plain backgrounds or were generally arranged in rows. The flowers are arranged in networks and frames. This style entered the art of India during the reign of Jahangir Shah and reached its peak of popularity during the reign of Shah Jahan.The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York exhibits works from 16th to 18th century (1580-1880) Indian rugs, a period in which Indian carpet weavers produce their most stunning works. The works in this museum represent a wide range of carpets produced in the creative artistic period and the most prominent period of the Mongol Empire. "The reason for choosing this time period is the extraordinary nature of the old samples and for the last samples, the excellent development of the art of carpet weaving and the beauty and charm of the carpets while their abundance" (walker, 1997: 42).    

The discussion of the carpets in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art follows almost a chronological progression. Indian carpet weaving began in the time of Homayoun Shah in the 16th century under the influence of Safavid Iranian art and was strengthened by the presence of Iranian artists and weavers. According to historical documents, during the reign of Akbarshah and under the patronage of the Shah in different cities of India, carpet production workshops were established with Iranian-style designs. Gradually a special Mongolian style was created. The rugs included images of people, scenes of warring animals, many plant elements, and a row of flowers and diagonal frames with floral motifs in each frame with combinations of Shah Abbasi flowers. Flower arrangement in the late 17th and early 18th centuries during the reign of Jahangir Shah entered the art of India and reached its peak of popularity during the reign of Shah Jahan and continued until the time of Aurangzeb. Perhaps Jahangir Shah''s sense of naturalism or the presence of European medicinal plants in the Mongol court led to the emergence of a beautiful combination of Indian naturalism and European herbalism in the art of this period, resulting in the emergence of Hezargol silk carpets in the late 17th century.