This article analyses one aspect of the early historiography of Eastern carpets: namely, how carpets from Persia were acquired, studied and presented in the context of late nineteenth-century British responses to the Orient and industrialization both in Europe and Persia. The discussion centres on the scholarly output and the collecting activities of the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum) – an institution that emerged within a landscape of orientalism, capitalist-imperialism, design reform and exhibitionary spectacle. By examining the works of key figures connected to the museum, such as Owen Jones, George Birdwood, Robert Murdoch Smith and William Morris, the present study discusses how the Victorian art establishment shaped discussions on taste, authenticity, taxonomy and commodification. It argues that such activities have helped to entrench a hierarchical and evolutionary understanding of ‘Oriental’ carpets that privileges imperial Safavid specimens over market-led Qajar and machine-made British examples.

Presents evidence that floral court rugs of the 16th century (and later) produced for the Ottoman court were likely made in Egypt (Cairo).

Brochure of an exhibition organized by The Textile Museum, Washington, DC, on view 1 June 1991 - 16 February 1992. Mamluk carpets present a paradox. Among the most beautiful of all Oriental carpets, they are also the least understood. Questions such as who made them and for whom, and how they were used, remain unanswered. Those produced during the rule of Mamluk sultans in Egypt in the late 15th century are arguably the finest carpets ever produced anywhere. They are distinguished by the dominance and simplicity of geometric forms: squares and rectangles, octagons and eight-pointed stars, yet intricate designs reflect a superlative play between color and geometric form that creates complex patterns.

Oriental Rug Review 15:1, 1994, 34-35

Problem Statement: Studying the carpets belonging to the pre-Islamic era, scholars are faced with different challenges like the lack of written sources and even pictorial samples of those carpets. Studying the samples belonging to the Sassanid era of Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyah in Kuwait helps us to investigate the most prominent decorative designs and even the visual characteristics. Research objectives: The structure of the mentioned carpets was examined to answer the following questions: How many types of decorative motifs are there in the carpets of Sassanid era? How many types of patterns are derived from the general structure of the study samples? What are the visual relationships between the elements and composed spaces in the study samples? Research method: The research method employed in this study is descriptive-analytic. Data were also collected through library research. Conclusion: Findings show that the motifs in the examined handmade samples are represented in three categories as follows: geometric, plants and animals. There are also some structural systems derived from the layout of motifs in different spaces of the carpets such as simple floor, gridding and Pictorial. It was recognized that using the same motifs is related to the unique patterns of the specific era.

Notwithstanding more than 100 years of investigation and the collection of a significant amount of data, little positive provenance information has yet emerged to pinpoint the origins of most Oriental carpet designs. The author of this paper, Jack Cassin, presents new commentary and evidence to begin to understand this situation. Progress has been made on several fronts particularly the recognition these designs did not exist in a vacuum and must be studied by taking other decorative arts into account. Clues garnered from diverse objects such as pottery and other findings from pre-historic archaeological excavations; metalwork from the bronze age and later periods; calligraphy from 9th century; architecture beginning in the 12th century; miniature painting from the 13th century and book-binding and wood-work from the 14th century have encouraged a number of important insights. However, the origins of the designs found on historic and later complex patterned weavings still remain mysterious and undetermined. Obviously the weavings themselves hold the greatest store of facts to assist in unraveling these questions and it is there more concentration must be applied. This can be done in several ways. The first is by the employment of the various analytic techniques developed by cutting-edge forensic sciences. Utilization of these new tools will facilitate the identification of important key elements that have hereto remained hidden. Once this is accomplished the sources of the raw materials and their various production methods will become identified. Collating these results will provide statistical profiles and examples, even those that formerly appeared unrelated, could then be grouped together based on verifiable criteria. These scientific findings, rather than the less positive comparisons of technique and design used today, will definitely improve chances for solving provenance questions. Similar intensive studies of the existent raw materials like wool, dyestuffs and water supplies, which are still present in the eastern Mediterranean areas where many of these historic weaving are believed to have produced, is a second area of inquiry. Collecting and comparing these results to those gathered from the weavings themselves will undoubtedly add other valuable criteria for these profiles. In conjunction with scientific field investigation, a far more intensive search, both above and below ground level for historic weavings will also add new examples to the relatively small number now known and likewise assist in answering these questions. However the third and perhaps the easiest - a re-examination of the small number of known historic weavings – can also yield new findings and discoveries. Since the first two are beyond the possibilities of this writer and The Weaving Art Museum at the present time, this third method has been chosen to present our Sixth Exhibition “A New Look At Some Ancient Knotted-Pile Carpet Fragments”. The examples selected for this inquiry come from the largest and most comprehensive grouping of early historic cut-pile carpets - The Lamm Collection. Both individually and as a group these wondrous little fragments provide a valuable source of material to answer the intriguing question: What were the origins of Oriental carpet designs?