Page 6 - Azərbaycan xalçaları

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Bazz Castle. Garadagh Kaleybar. 8 th century.
A view of Savalan mountain.
Azerbaijani art around the world, including delicate miniatures,
carpet weaving, and other arts. The combination of Tabriz carpet
weaving traditions with the artistic features of miniatures result-
ed in a new extraordinary elegance in weaving.
Carpet compositions were often enriched by the participation
and suggestions of artists such as Sultan Mahammed and other
designers of miniatures, leading to recognition of Tabriz carpets
throughout the world. In the 16th – 17th centuries due to the estab-
lishment of the Safavid state and the admiration of Shah Ismail
I and his son Tahmasib for art, special attention was paid to car-
pet weaving and miniatures, leading to the creation of amazing
art specimens and recognition of Azerbaijani art as being in a
new stage of development. This development can be seen in the
carpets, metalwork, ceramics, masonry, textile and embroidery
specimens decorating Azerbaijani and world famous museums
and personal collections. Among these samples are: “Sheikh
Sefi” carpets (or “Ardebil” carpets) in London, Los Angeles, and
Tehran, exemplifying the carpet weaving from the 16th century;
a steel hood, decorated shield, and cloth at the Armory in Mos-
cow, Russia; embroidery and carpets from the 16th century in the
Museum of Decorative Arts in Budapest, Hungary; a decorative
plate (16th-17 th centuries) kept in the personal collection of Deben-
hams, New York; a decorative plate (17th century) kept in the per-
sonal collection of Tabbah, New York; embroidered velvet (16th
century) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA; “Karabakh”
carpet (17th century) kept in the collection of the Metropolitan
Museum, New York, USA; decorative clothes and a decorative
plate at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; decorative
cloths and a plot-based carpet (16th century) at the Museum of
Decorative Arts in Paris; a steel hood, the clasp of Shah Ismail’s
golden belt, a namazlyk carpet (16th century), and a decorative
vase (16th-17th centuries), among other works are held at the Top-
kapi Palace Museum in Turkey.
Shah Tahmasib received training from the great master Sultan
Mahammed as a carpet weaver and his subsequent contribu-
tion to Tabriz group carpets cannot be overstated. The young
Tahmasib prepared sketches for many carpets and embroidery.
High quality carpets and fabrics woven at the palace based on
his sketches were repeatedly presented to temples, mosques, and
holy places. History shows that several carpets, as well as silk
fabrics for curtains were presented to Imam Huseyn’s tomb in Carpet fragment. Wool, pile weave. Middle of 16th
century. Tabriz Group. Azerbaijan. Metropoliten
Museum. New York.