This item has been added to the Database within the Explore Islamic Art Collections project. Information is available in: English, Arabic.

Name of Object:

Carpet of floral arabesque type

Location:

Kyiv, Ukraine

Holding Museum:

The Khanenko Museum

About The Khanenko Museum, Kyiv

Current Owner:

The Khanenko Museum

Date of Object:

AD late 16th–17th century

Museum Inventory Number:

358 БВ

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Cotton (warp and weft), wool (pile); asymmetrically knotted pile

Dimensions:

Length: 428cm, Width: 224cm

Period / Dynasty:

Safavid

Provenance:

Iran

Description:

This highly sophisticated design of spiral tendrils connecting symmetrically arranged flower blossoms and buds, leaves, palmettes and cloudbanks was popular in Iranian carpet-weaving from the second half of AD 16th through 17th century. Some carpets of this type today are attributed to imperial workshops of Isfahan. The rich and vibrant colour palette of the carpet is based on the deep red tone of the background. Contrasting dark blue ground of the main border renders integrity to the whole composition.

How date and origin were established:

Stylistic analysis by Leon Guzalian (examination, Hermitage, 1955, date); Hanna Rudyck (Rudyk) (The Khanenko Museum, 2017).

How Object was obtained:

Purchased by Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko. Donated by Varvara Khanenko in 1918, nationalised by Bolshevik regime in 1919.

How provenance was established:

Ассording to the entry in the Old Museum Inventory Register (1919-1940).

Selected bibliography:

Bilenko, H. and Rudyck (Rudyk), H., Oriental Collection, guidebook, Kyiv: The Khanenko Museum, 2005.
Denny, Walter B., How to Read Islamic Carpets, New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014.
Rudyk, H. (ed), Charisma of Iran. Persian art of 12th–19th centuries from museum collections of Ukraine, Kyiv: The Khanenko Museum, 2017.
Spuhler, F., Carpets and Textiles: The Thyssen Bornemisza Collection, London: Philip Wilson, 1998.

Citation of this web page:

Antonina Makarevych, Hanna Rudyk "Carpet of floral arabesque type" in Explore Islamic Art Collections. Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;uc;Mus21;10;en

Prepared by: Antonina Makarevych, Hanna Rudyk
Copyedited by: Janice MedinaJanice Medina

Janice Medina is an artist and educator based in Upstate New York. She studied interior design at Syracuse University and obtained her M.S. in Building Conservation in 2008 (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) and Master of Fine Arts in 2019 (University at Albany).

Janice is a former participant in the US/ICOMOS International Exchange Program and she has taught courses in the history of design and historic preservation. Her artwork is influenced by her experiences in historic preservation, as well as by building materials and the natural environment.

Janice has participated as a copy-editor with Museum With No Frontiers since 2019. In this role she has had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects including Discover Islamic Art, Discover Baroque Art and Discover Glass Art.

MWNF Working Number: UC1 10