Il tappeto nel Medio Oriente prima dell'età safavide. 
basic article, by Paul
Introduction. Among
the oldest carpet come down to us almost intact, found in Siberia and dated to 2500 years ago, and the fragments of the thirteenth century, found in Central Anatolia, we only have historical and literary, rare and sometimes inaccurate, making it impossible to reconstruct an evolution continuous and accurate historical knotted carpet. Only under the Timurid dynasty (1370-1506), with the development of miniature art, we begin to have images of contemporary rugs.
In these pages I have offered to put up a review, which may not be exhaustive, the evolution of knotted carpet in what is considered the cradle of civilization, the Middle East, from most ancient to a giungere all’epoca safavide, quando la storia del tappeto inizia a non avere più segreti.
L’arte del tappeto in Mesopotamia e nella Persia achemenide. Non vi è dubbio che le evolute civiltà della Mesopotamia nel periodo precedente il V secolo a.C. abbiano posseduto tutte le conoscenze per un raffinato sviluppo del tappeto. Il vertice di questo periodo aulico dovrebbe essere stato raggiunto durante il regno di Nabucodonosor II (605-562 a.C.) ultimo grande sovrano babilonese, prima dell’invasione di Ciro nel 539 a.C.
Qualche indizio sulla misteriosa storia del tappeto nell’antichità può giungere dalle rovine del palazzo reale assiro di Ninive. I resti del palazzo, made during the reign of Ashurbanipal (ca. 668-626 BC), offering a stark contrast at first sight: in fact, indoors, wall reliefs depicting the rich business of war and scenes of the king's court are opposed on the ground floor remains joke, that little befitting the residence of a powerful sovereign. Even more remarkable is that only in the vicinity of the openings of the gates of Nineveh floors were decorated with stone panels from the geometric design, now preserved at the British Museum in London. This lack of uniformity suggests that the premises of the palace were covered with carpets, with the same decoration of the panels placed under the doors. But there's more: the decoration of the panels pavimentarie the residence of Nineveh show striking similarities with those of the carpet Pazyryk, manufactured with advanced fleece shaved down and refined decorative structure, knotted between the fifth and second centuries BC, perhaps in Persia.
(the carpet Pazyrik)
(Details of the floor of the palace of Nineveh)
Based on the information left by the Greeks that the Achaemenid civilization at the time of the conquest of Sardis ( 546 BC) and Babylon (539 BC) was in its infancy and that Persia must have been very poor in the city. It is a confirmation of the fact that Cyrus the Great (590-529 BC), struck by the splendor of Babylon, forbade the looting. Certainly there was no real craftsmanship and function of the carpet was more utilitarian than artistic, probably restricted to a domestic manufacturing, with geometric patterns or naive nature, while the use of the knotted carpet was certainly known to the nomadic Persians, which provided abundant raw good quality wool. Cyrus was probably to promote the art of Persian rug. Magnificent carpets adorned his court, as well as his tomb Pasargade; the same Alexander the Great would have been dazzled by the magnificence of the carpet that covered the tomb of Cyrus, who refused were desecrated.
Top ancient historical sources. The existence and importance of the carpet in the Middle Eastern culture is confirmed by historical and literary sources.
References are in the Old Testament in the Gospels (but not in the "Apocrypha") and Acts of the Apostles.
Herodotus (484-425 BC), Xenophon (430-355 BC) described admired the splendor of Persian carpets and soft and medium. Xenophon, and nell'Anabasi Ciropedia, talks about the importance of the carpet in the lives of Middle Eastern populations, and cites the enormous value of some specimens. To give an example of the luxury of the Persians said that "
was not enough to have their soft beds: under I placed carpets, so that the floor it was all covered . For Xenophon, Sardis, the ancient capital of Lydia (now western Turkey), conquered by Cyrus in 546 BC, was an important carpet manufacturing.
carpets of Sardis were the most well-known to the Greeks, probably because this city was for centuries the confluence of Greek civilization and Eastern Europe and an important trading center. The carpets will be cited by the University of Sardis in the second or third century AD, which suggests that the local manufacture of carpets persist for many centuries. Just
carpets Lydians and Babylonians, but not local carpets, adorned the houses of the Persian kings and nobles. E ' only under the successors of Alexander the Great (the Diadochi), which are cited in the Persian carpet industry, whose favorite animal depictions.
In republican Rome the second century BC, as well as perfumes and furniture decorated with ivory and gold, they began to appreciate the Babylonian carpets, regardless of nationalistic Cato arrows (note that the term "Babylon" was the equivalent of our "Eastern"). In his sixth satire, Horace (65-8 BC) says that figured beautiful carpets covered the beds of ivory. Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) in his Natural History, while praising the beauty of the carpets of Babylon, he deplored the large sums of money spent in the East to import; For example, Nero (37-68 AD) acquired the carpets of Babylon for four million sesterces.
The carpets, which were appreciated for their wealth and for the care of their execution, came from Babylon, Tyre, Sidon, Pergamum, Alexandria and Corinth.
remains to be determined whether the term "carpet" of classical writers always indicate real knotted, woven or embroidered tapestries.
The Sassanid Chosroes and the carpet. There is no reliable citations during the Achaemenid kings and kingdoms of the two successive dynasties: those of the Seleucids (312-120 BC) and Parthian (170 BC-226 AD).
E 'at the time of the dynasty Sassanid (224-621 AD), which contains documents on the existence of rugs made in Persia, which were also exported, we find mention in a Chinese text of 600 AD, called
Suyi , which refers to the Persian carpet between the products. Even Huan Tsang, the Chinese traveler of the seventh century BC, he reached Samarkand, praised the ability of nell'annodatura Persian carpets.
In the winter of 627 AD the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius defeated the Sassanid army at the Battle of Nineveh and marched to the Tigers coming to loot the palace of Khosrow II Dastagerd, where reported several rugs. The Sassanid dynasty was then placed after the defeat at the hands of the Arabs, and sacked the capital of Ctesiphon in 637. Among the spoils of the Arabs are mentioned many carpets, including the famous "Spring of Chosroes (Khosrow-e-Bahar
), known to history as the most precious carpet of all time.
The existence of this wall clock is witnessed unimaginable from multiple sources, historians and travelers simple: "
The bottom of the carpet was a garden full of trees and delicious spring flowers, crossed by small streams and crossed by paths cross. The wide border that served as the framework offered beautiful blooming meadows, where the colors of the flowers were represented by stones blue, red, yellow and green. In the bottom of the carpet yellowing of the ground was imitated with gold stripes will depict the edges of streams and among these, made with stones of crystal clear flowing waters of the perfect illusion. The gravel paths were indicated by large stones such as pearls, stems and branches were made of gold and silver, the leaves of trees and flowers, as well as the other leaves on branches, were of silk and the fruits of colorful stones .
E 'likely that this masterpiece, which covered the entire floor of the hall of the palace of hearings arch of Ctesiphon, was commissioned by King Chosroes I (
Anushirvan , the immortal), who reigned from 531 to 579 AD, to celebrate the victories against the Sassanid empire of Constantinople, which culminated with the destruction of Antioch (540 AD) and the annexation of southern Arabia. Unfortunately, the Bahar-i-Khusrau, intrasportabile and so rich in precious materials, was cut into infinite pieces and divided the spoils of war.
The description of this rug is so strange to us to not take everything to the point sources (indeed not totally consistent), and it is very difficult to determine whether the Bahar-i-Khusrau was a real knotted carpet, although from the descriptions seems to be a tapestry brocade. The materials would be limited to silk, gold, silver, and decorations of different geometric color could make you think of stones. The carpet, however, is a unique source of reason "in the garden" in this later Safavid carpet, and of which the prototypes were lost.
According to some historians, in addition to the wonder described in the palace of Ctesiphon were also special carpets representing thirty days of the month and four representing the seasons of the year.
(the remains of the royal palace of Ctesiphon)
fragments of At Tar. Pazyryk After the carpet, the carpets in our possession the oldest date from the thirteenth century. However, sporadic but significant findings contribute to witness how art dell'annodatura continue to flourish in the Middle East. On
pads At Tar, near the Iraqi city of Karbala, a team of Japanese archaeologists has unearthed a series of 400 caves connected by trenches and walls, used first as defensive bulwarks to dominate the vital artery that linked Mesopotamia Saudi all'inumazione and later for the dead.
In the caves have been found human remains, many of them still wrapped in mats or pieces of tissue, preserved by the arid climate and ventilation of the soil.
Examination radiocarbon has allowed us to date the textiles in a time interval between the third century BC to fourth century AD The materials used were different: flax, hemp, cotton and wool, often mixed together to make different forms of technical details and nuances of color. Even the dyes were obtained by traditional substances that would remain forever linked to the production of carpets: indigo, madder, the Tyrian purple and cochineal.
Among the finds at At Tar there were also fragments of carpets, made entirely of wool, but in most cases were used to lay the dead, but some had a double level, that even with knots on the reverse, perhaps used to sellatura the horses in order to reduce friction. In these fragments are observed for the first time some are still very basic reasons that later become part of the traditional symbology of the carpets, as the "running dog".
The advent of Islam and Persia of the caliphate.
The Prophet Muhammad died in 632 AD and 633 Arabs swept the Middle East, almost all of Central Asia and Egypt, defeating the Byzantine Empire and the Sassanid Empire. For a long time, Persia will be under the domination or at least the influence of the Arab caliphs. The word khalifa
in Arabic means "successor" (the Prophet).
(the extension of the caliphate)
The conquerors are semi-nomadic people, accustomed to a life devoid of comforts and luxuries, not the brilliant artistic and cultural level, even given the absence of a powerful local dynasty, the art of carpet suffered a decline, at least until the advent of the Abbasid and Umayyad caliphs. By contrast, with the conversion to Islam in the occupied territories the carpet purchase another significant value in promoting the rule of prayer. We find it mentioned numerous times in the Qur'an, in Surah
88, for example, the carpet is described as one of the riches with which the believer will rewarded in the afterlife: "...
There shall be an overflowing spring. There will be thrones of dignity, soaring into the sky, filled cups, cushions and rich carpets spread out ... "
During the rule of the caliphs of Baghdad several historians visited the Arab and Persian carpets cited among the artifacts of those regions, demonstrating that this craft was not off, although it is very likely that were not knotted pieces of great value,
We know that the region of Khorassan was already known as a center of production and this finding supports the view that wants the area between the centers Qainat ancient art of carpet and home can one of the most common reasons Persians: the '
herati .
eighth century Centres of Marand, Tabriz and be reliable (Dwin), Azerbaijan produced carpets, there are also historical references on the presence of the carpet in Fars, Shiraz, in the ninth century. In
Tabarestan (now the province of Mazandaran in northern Iran, overlooking the Caspian Sea) with the fees each year were sent 600 carpets to the caliphs of Baghdad.
In summary of the natural roles of taxes, taken from a work entitled al-Dawla
Djirab Ahmed ibn al-Hamid, the era of the Government of the Abbasid caliph Ma'mun (786-833), is said to Armenians were obliged "to provide
each year as tax, twenty carpets to the caliphs of Baghdad . The news can be integrated with that of Tha'alibi (Arab philologist, 961-1038), who reported that the Armenians at that time the Sultan had to provide, along with other charges "annually thirty
carpets." Another Arab historian reported that the emir Yusuf Abu-Sadsh Muhtashir caliph had sent her, along with other gifts, seven Armenian carpets.
We have also a description of the carpet on which the night between 9 and 10 October 861 he was killed near Baghdad, the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil. This rug was in the border of round medallions with portraits accompanied by Persian inscriptions. Scheroe personalities portrayed are named, the son of Chosroes II, and III Jezid. The inscriptions cited arguments in favor of Persian origin of the carpet. The Umayyad Caliph Hesham ibn Abd al-Malik had a huge carpet of silk and gold, which they said could rival the carpet of Khosrow.
from the tenth century the Arabs in Muslim Spain developed and practiced all the textile arts, and between the caliphate of Abd al-Rahman (912-961) and that of Muhammad (1238-1273), textiles and carpets reached a high degree of sophistication, so that the Hispanic-Moorish carpets were sent to Egypt, Damascus, and even in Persia.
the domain of the caliphs of Baghdad followed a period of less than two centuries during which several Persian dynasties were able to achieve a relative independence and rule over their country. There is no direct information on craft of carpet this time, but at that time lived the great Persian poet Firdusi (935-1020), celebrating the ancient Persian epic in the "Book of Kings (Shahnameh
) , teaches us that the carpets in homes replacing the internal walls of the rooms (in particular those of women), covered the ground, covered the mattresses, pillows, sofas and decorated the inside of crowbars. For large receptions were also placed in the gardens of the kings and great personages. For Firdusi were also sometimes a means of seduction: "... the beautiful daughter of
Afrayab Menireh brought into his tent to which the young Birehn fell in love. This tent, for the pleasure was entirely covered with rich carpets in bright colors and even the ground was covered it. "
(statue Firdusi)
The Seljuk rule.
In the ninth century, the Seljuks, a Turkish people, they leave Central Asia, driven by the pressure of population in the west of the steppes, penetrate through Persia Khorasan, Tabriz to elect their capital and reach Anatolia. Their rule lasted from
1037 to 1194, when they lose to Persia and Mesopotamia, which will be submitted to the shah of Khiva, and further to the west of the Sultanate of Rum (Konya with its capital, now Konya) survive up to 1307 fell by the Mongol invasion.
Invasion of the Seljuk, warlike people who profess Islam Sunni, it hurts initially most of the centers exist in the cultural area of \u200b\u200bknotting the Middle East. But after winning the Seljuks showed an interest in culture and art, especially architecture, metalworking and art pottery, not to mention the production of knotted. It is believed that the Seljuks of Anatolia have kept the rustic tradition of Central Asia dell'annodatura, leading to higher levels.
(suspected irradiation of Turkmen tribes from Central Asia)
Marco Polo, who was in Anatolia in 1271 en route to the court of Kublai Khan, mentions the carpets of the icon as " them rulers of the world and more beautiful colors. " That this was not an exaggeration or a personal opinion of the Venetian, the rest and acute observer, is confirmed by other sources. Ibn Battuta, who traveled to Anatolia in 1334, so he says: "There were produced from sheep's wool carpets called" Aksaray ", who have not found the same in any country and exported from there to Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Persia and even India and China .
Of that have come down to us almost intact, and some pieces large and significant fragments found in the Alaeddin Mosque in Konya and the mosque of Esrefoglu Beyşehir (eighty kilometers south-west of Konya).
(carpet of the thirteenth century, found in a mosque in Konya, computer reconstruction of Albert D.)
These ancient specimens are made of wool, using the symmetrical knot and propose geometric distributed neatly within the field; the reasons are more played eight-pointed stars, rosettes, and small octagons hooked polygons, frames are quite large and can be decorated with austere geometric patterns or the reason Kufic, which lends itself well to the function of beautifying the interiors of mosques. The colors are sober and the reasons of decorum, usually made of light colors stand out against a field of mostly red or dark blue.
is believed that these artifacts date back to the second half of the thirteenth century. Whereas the main mosque in Konya was built in 1220 during the reign of Sultan Alaeddin Keykubat, and that of Beyşehir in the last few years of the century, it is difficult to think of a use of carpets are old and therefore the proposed dating for the whole group seems quite plausible.
The Mongol invasion: Ilkhanid and Timurid.
Since 1219, under the leadership of Genghis Khan, the Mongols began the conquest of the Middle East, founding the dynasty of Ilkhanid. The
Ilkhanate was one of four regions that made up the Mongol empire, and included the current Persia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and western Pakistan.
The Mongols were a people rude and control of Persia was initially brutal: the artistic life of Persia, including the knotted carpet, had to suffer. However, over time, Mongol rulers were influenced by the conquered country, attracted by the culture Persian Ilkhanid sponsored the arts and cultivate the fine traditions of Islamic Persia, helping to revive the country after the previous devastation.
Thus we know that at the end of the thirteenth century, Ghazan Khan, who was the first Mongol ruler to convert to Islam, did cover the floors of the new mosque and his home in Tabriz with rugs from Fars. This indirectly tells us that there were no copies in Tabriz able to bear comparison.
In 1335, death meant the end of the last legitimate Ilkhans dell'Ilkhanato, which broke up into several smaller states by exposing the Persian invasion of another race of Mongol conqueror: Tamerlane (Timur-i-Lang
, Timur the Lame), who founded the Timurid dynasty. Legendary ruler of cruelty, he created a vast empire stretching from Central Asia to northern India, Persia and Mesopotamia, choosing Samarkand as its capital.
Under the Timurid artistic development, the town experienced a truly exceptional, due in large part to the aesthetic and cultural sensibilities of the ruling dynasty. The Timurid
advance the art of miniature bringing the highest levels, especially if they have splendid examples in the epics, such as the Shahnameh
of Firdusi, shown from the fourteenth century. Thus the Persian carpets of the time are well documented through a detailed representations contained in the thumbnails (instead of the Anatolian carpets are accurately depicted in contemporary European painting at the time). The style is still mostly geometric, although characterized by greater complexity of composition and color, with compartments square, hexagonal and octagonal, often defined by complex plots forming "endless knot" and star motifs.
(miniature representation of a carpet)
The illuminators come to influence the design of the rug in particular are reflected in the carpet designs that are proper to the binding of the Koran, the Islamic holy book: the space is dominated from a central medallion, round or elongated, often embellished top and bottom large pendants, the corners are often a quarter of a medallion, part of the central one. The edges are well defined and are often characterized by a set of scrolls that could cause them to flower shapes or markings.
(miniature with reason Ghaba Khorana)
Also, thanks to a miniature, part of a manuscript dated 1436, we also have the first image that shows the distribution of prayer carpets, decorated with stylized mihrab, the niche that indicates the direction of mosques qibla (ie Mecca).
(Timurid miniature image with the first note of prayer rug, on which he prayed to the Prophet)
The need to defend themselves from the Mamluks of Egypt leads the Timurid to accept alliances Chinese, Armenian, Byzantine and Christian. These contacts reflect the production of knotted carpet, which also houses Chinese art motifs for which the Timurid, originally from Mongolia, had a great respect of course, is also likely that Chinese artists and artisans have been invited to work in the studio court. In several miniatures make their appearance carpets decorated with floral arabesques interwoven and complex spirals, scrolls, compartments round and multilobulated, depictions of birds and animals also as the mythical dragon and the phoenix.
The advent of the Safavids. In the second part of the fifteenth century, the Mongol dynasty gradually lost control of Persia in the west took over the Turkmen tribes of Montoni Bianchi (ak
Black Sheep Turkomans) and their Emir Uzun Hassan settled in Tabriz
In 1474 Josaphat Barbaro, Ambassador of the Republic of Venice to the court of Tabriz, he wrote a "
Journey to Persia", the palace of Uzun Hassan is minutely described in his pomp, and among the most precious objects, the Venetian cites numerous carpets, including many specimens in sumptuous silk.
In 1499 the young Ismail (1487-1524), succeeded in winning the support of nomadic Turkish tribes of Azerbaijan and defeat the Rams Bianchi. Within a few years with some shipments that departed from the capital, Tabriz, Shah Ismail I conquered all of Persia, so that is again ruled by a local dynasty, the Safavids, destined to reign over Persia until 1736.
Under this dynasty, all the arts of Persia, including the manufacture of carpet, they reached the absolute top, particularly under Shah Abbas the Great, who established his capital at Esfahan, bringing to his court the great masters.
Period cultural and artistic splendor of truth, the reign of Shah Abbas I can be compared to the European Renaissance.
conclusions. The word "carpet" immediately evokes the Persian carpet in the collective and the Middle East of the Arabian Nights
and this leads us to consider that land as the cradle of dell'annodatura.
In fact, the carpet would be born and would have evolved in the steppes of Central Asia, inhabited by people of Turkish origin, who were used to isolate itself from the frozen ground. These people, driven by the pressure of other more easterly, would then migrated to the west, invading Persia, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor el'Anatolia, spreading their knowledge of technology dell'annodatura.
findings in our possession, however, testify to the knowledge and dissemination of the carpet in other regions in China, Egypt and in America pre-Columbian. The oldest written records date back to the mat relating to the Vedas, the sacred texts of Hinduism, in '
Atharva Veda , composed around 1000 BC and put into writing around 200 BC, the sage Atharva use the carpet , with its textures and its warped, as a symbol of the Whole, of absolute knowledge.
We can then assume that the art of weaving carpets has been developed independently in populations without any contact between them at different times, as a result of a common need.
But only in the Middle East, the carpet has evolved to the point of rise almost a symbol of local art and be appreciated, and exported mentioned, influencing all subsequent productions.
(miniature depicting the prophet Muhammad on a prayer rug)
June 15, 2009
