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The Tabriz Carpet School located in the South Azerbaijan (nowadays north-
western Iran, where the area is known as WesternAzerbaijan and EasternAzer-
baijan provinces) comprises cities like Tabriz, Ardabil, Maragha, Marand,
Khoy, Urmiyye, Zanjan, Geresu, Geriz, Sarab, Ahmadabad, Mirish, Akhar,
Salmas, Goravan, Senna, Garadagh, etc.
The Tabriz carpet tradition was strongly influenced by the local miniature
school of the XVI-XVIII centuries. The period in question is also known as
the golden age for the carpet art in the Orient, with its masterpieces nowadays
cherished in a number of museums throughout the world. Among the most
prominent works of this kind one should mention the famous
Sheikh Safi
,
also
known as The
Ardabil
Carpet. Woven in 1539, it is nowadays exhibited at the
Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Another work of art, known as
The
Hunter
,
the XVI century, is kept at Poldi Pezzoli Museum, Milan.
The Tabriz carpets feature an enormous diversity of compositions and orna-
ments, refined vegetal motifs, elaborate décor of the central medallion and
elegant lines of patterns.
The school embraces the following recognized compositions:
Tabriz,
Bakhshayish, Garaja, Geravan, Heris, Lechek-Turunj, Dord Fesil (Four Sea-
sons), Afshan, Shah Abbasy, Aghajly, Ovchulug, Ardebil, Sheykh Sefi, Sha-
habbasi, Sarabi, Zenjan, Mir
and
Achma-yumma
.
Tabriz and Ardebil were known for carpets of big size and high density. The
highest density reached 80x80 to 100x100 knots per square decimeter, whereas
the largest size ever was 56 square meters.
Height of pile in the Tabriz carpets varies from 2 to 15 millimeters, while over-
all density ranges from 25x25 to 100x100 knots in a square decimeter. Re-
cently some custom-made carpets with pile up to 40 millimeters were crafted
as well.