Iran — Tabriz, Kashan & Isfahan
Persian Pictorial Zodiac Wheel Carpet
Persian Carpets · Representative imagery
A representative Persian pictorial carpet built around a great wheel of concentric rings filled with the signs of the zodiac, animals and bands of Nastaliq calligraphy radiating from a central rosette. Framed by floral corner spandrels and a meandering vine border, the design reflects the narrative and figural tradition of city workshops such as Kashan and Tabriz. These finely hand-knotted pieces, worked in wool and silk, were prized as showpieces of drawing skill, translating manuscript illumination into pile.
The tradition
Iran — Tabriz, Kashan & Isfahan
Persian carpets are the benchmark of the knotted-pile tradition, refined over centuries in the great workshop cities of Iran. City rugs from Tabriz, Kashan and Isfahan are known for curvilinear floral designs — a central medallion floating on a field of scrolling vines — drawn first on a cartoon and then knotted with great precision.
Alongside the formal city style runs a tribal and village tradition with bolder, more geometric versions of the same garden imagery. Both share the Persian idea of the carpet as an eternal garden in bloom.
Motifs & meaning
Reading the design
Persian design is a language of the garden and of paradise, rendered in flowing curvilinear forms.
Central medallion (toranj)
The sun, a pool, or the dome of a garden pavilion.
Boteh
The seed-and-flame paisley, a symbol of life and fertility.
Shah Abbasi palmette
The grand court flower of the Safavid era.
Tree of life
Paradise and the connection of earth to heaven.
Materials & technique
How it is made
Hand-knotted, traditionally with the asymmetric (Persian) knot, in fine wool and silk on a cotton or silk foundation — high knot counts allow the curving floral detail Persian rugs are famous for.
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