Name of Object:

Animal combat carpet

Location:

Vienna, Austria

Holding Museum:

MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art

About MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art, Vienna

Date of Object:

Mid-16th century

Museum Inventory Number:

T 8334

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Silk warp and weft; wool; knotted; asymmetrical knot

Dimensions:

H: 744cm, W: 350cm; knot density 5,200/dm2

Period / Dynasty:

Safavid

Provenance:

Iran

Description:

Herat, already an important centre of court art during the Timurid dynasty in the 15th century, is repeatedly mentioned as a major carpet production site. However, it has not been clarified whether the MAK Collection’s exemplars attributed to this actually originate from there; a more plausible place of production seems to be southern Iran. Stylistically, these high-quality pieces are closely oriented to the art of the Timurid period. The carpet seen here, the most famous of this production, has a counterpart located today in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The motifs of the immensely fine design are mirrored four times on a red ground around the horizontal and vertical axes; fantasy blossoms alternate with animal depictions and Chinese-inspired cloudbands. Moreover, the contrasting green-grounded border exhibits three delicate tendril systems laid on top of each other. In the accompanying border, a poem by the 12th-century poet Zahir Faryabi, written in nasta `liq script, praises love, nature and the king of the world, for whom the pair of carpets was made.

How date and origin were established:

Research and documentary evidence

How Object was obtained:

Obtained in 1922, formerly in the Imperial House of Habsburg

How provenance was established:

Research and documentary evidence

Selected bibliography:

Völker, Angela, Die orientalischen Knüpfteppiche das MAK, Vienna: Böhlau, 2001: 224–9.

Citation of this web page:

Angela Völker, Barbara Karl "Animal combat carpet" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;DCA;at;Mus31;11;en

Prepared by: Angela Völker, Barbara Karl
Copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: AT1_011