DESCRIPTION: | A Safavid silk lamp fragment with a double-sided woven depicting a row of logical with a margin of bound of Persian poetry inscriptions, young men haul a cup with long-necked bottles of wine in a lush garden.
The youthful male standing up humbly glimpses upwards for the festivity encircling the middle of the Persian Four Gardens.CHRONOLOGY OF SAFAVID IN
The 15th Century:
Isma‘il Safavi and his supporters, known as Qizilbash, or “redheads,” on account of their distinctive red caps, wrest control of Azerbaijan from the Aq Quyunlu, and in the same year Isma‘il is crowned in Tabriz as the first Safavid shah (r. 1501–24). Upon his accession, Shi‘a Islam becomes the official religion of the new Safavid state, which as yet consists only of Azerbaijan. Within ten years, however, all of Iran is united under the rule of the Safavid, possibly the most successful dynasty to emerge from Iran in the Islamic era. The period is recognized for artistic production, particularly the arts of the book. Textiles, carpets, and ceramics also become important in the international market.
This luxurious and exquisite silk fabric was woven in Iran during the sixteenth-century reign of the Safavid ruler Shah Tahmasp(I),
This was a period of robust sericulture and silk weaving in the region when the Safavids were among the major silk exporters in a global market.
The inscriptions consist of Persian verses, probably from the Omar Khayyam Rubaiyat: ‘Since Moon and Venus first appeared in the sky No one has seen anything better than ruby wine. I often wonder what the Vintners buy One half so precious as the Goods they sell. For two related panels forming a documented case, see Patricia Baker, Islamic Textiles, 1995, p. 117. |
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