Description
Book SynopsisCarpets from Islamic lands have been treasured for centuries on nearly every continent on earth. This book features more than forty carpets held in the al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait, along with several important pre-Islamic carpet fragments.
Trade Review'The reader cannot help but be delighted by the quality of the images chosen. Absorbing ... the text is a pleasure. It informs as opposed to dictates ... a masterful triumph' - Selvedge
Table of ContentsPreface by Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah • Acknowledgments • Introduction: The 2,500-Year History of Oriental Carpets •
PART I PRE- CLASSICAL CARPETS Chapter 1: Pre-Islamic and Early Islamic Carpets • Carpets from the Sasanian period • The early Islamic pre-classical period • PART II CLASSICAL CARPETS Chapter 2: Egypt • Mamluk carpets • Chessboard carpets • Chapter 3: Turkey • Seljuq carpets • Anatolian animal carpets • Ottoman carpets • “Holbein” and “Lotto” carpets • Star Ushak and Medallion Ushak carpets • Multiple-niche carpets (saff) and prayer carpets • Early village rugs from Anatolia • “Transylvanian” carpets • Late prayer rugs and their reception in Western collections • Chapter 4: Persia: Safavid carpets: the workshops • Safavid carpets: dating • Safavid carpets: pattern types • Compartment carpets • Medallion carpets Vine-scroll carpets • Vase carpets • Garden carpets • Safavid velvets • Chapter 5: Caucasus • Dragon and flower carpets • Chapter 6: India • Mughal carpets: pattern groups • Vine- scroll carpets • Floral garden carpets • Animal carpets
