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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1974.57
Title
Medallion and Hunting Carpet
Classification
Textile Arts
Work Type
rug
Date
16th century
Places
Creation Place: Middle East, Iran
Period
Safavid period
Culture
Persian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/216329

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Wool pile
Technique
Knotted
Dimensions
235.59 x 160.02 cm (92 3/4 x 63 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Sir Frederick Leighton, London, (by 1882-1896). Joseph V. McMullan, New York, (by 1965-1974), bequest; to the Fogg Museum, 1974.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Joseph V. McMullan
Accession Year
1974
Object Number
1974.57
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
A central yellow medallion anchors this busy composition of animals, palmettes, and vegetation. Pairs of animals, ranging from goats to cheetahs, tigers, and deer, are scattered throughout its main field. This carpet once belonged to the British artist Frederic Leighton (d. 1896), who was fascinated with the decorative arts of the “Near East” and built his home with an “Arab Hall” featuring tilework and other furnishings either purchased from the Islamic world or inspired by its designs. This carpet certainly inspired the artist. Photographs show that it was kept in his studio, and he faithfully rendered it as a backdrop for one of his paintings, Day Dreams (1882).

Publication History

  • Joseph V. McMullan, Islamic Carpets (New York, 1965)
  • David Sylvester, Islamic Carpets from the Collection of Joseph V. McMullan, exh. cat. (Arts Council of Great Britain, London, 1972)
  • Kristin A. Mortimer and William G. Klingelhofer, Harvard University Art Museums: A Guide to the Collections, Harvard University Art Museums and Abbeville Press (Cambridge and New York, 1986), p. 86, fig. 92

Exhibition History

  • Diverse are their Hues: Animals in Islamic Art, Harvard University Art Museums, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 12/18/1984 - 02/09/1985
  • Geometry of the Spirit: Islamic Illumination and Calligraphy, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 04/30/1988 - 06/26/1988
  • Islamic Art: The Power of Pattern, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 09/23/1989 - 01/17/1990
  • Arabesque, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 12/01/1990 - 03/24/1991
  • Shadows of God On Earth: Arts of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Dynasties, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/21/1997 - 08/31/1997
  • 32Q: 2550 Islamic, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 04/19/2018 - 11/07/2018

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu