Persian Ardabil Carpet

The city of Ardabil is located at 1,200 meters above sea level in northwestern Iran, in the Ardabil Province. The name originates from the Zoroastrian word Artavil, meaning a holy city. The city is mentioned in the Zoroastrian holy scripture, the Avesta, which states that Zoroaster was born by the Aras River and allegedly wrote his scriptures in the Salaban Mountains. One of Ardabil’s main landmarks is the tomb of the ruler Safi al-Din Ardabili, who died in 1334. In his time, he was the leader of the Sufis, who followed him in the practice of mystical Sufism. One of his successors, Shah Ismail, reunited Iran after several centuries of foreign rule and established Shiism as the state religion. He was the founder of the Safavid dynasty, during which Iran once again reached a flourishing peak in the arts. In 1530, Ismail’s son, Shah Tahmasp, enlarged the shrine with the tomb, and it was during this time that the famous Ardabil carpets were crafted for this space. According to two British travelers, the carpets were still in place in 1843, but 30 years later, an earthquake severely damaged the tomb, and they were sold to raise funds for restoration. They were purchased by a British company, and because they were damaged, parts of one carpet were used to restore the other, resulting in one carpet lacking its border. In 1892, the larger carpet was auctioned in London, where it captivated the designer William Morris, who convinced the museum management to purchase it for 2,000 pounds of that time. The smaller one was sold to an American collector and is now in a museum in Los Angeles. Today, Ardabil and its surrounding villages are an important center for the production and sale of carpets. Based on their construction, colors, and patterns, they can be classified among Caucasian carpets, especially those imitating the Kazakh style. They typically feature two weft threads between two rows of knots on a cotton foundation, a symmetrical knot, and geometric patterns, while the colors are muted and harmonious. However, carpets from the wider Ardabil Province can vary greatly, as the region is home to peoples such as the Afshars, Kurds, Baharlu, and Shahsevan, each with their own carpet-weaving traditions. The Shahsevan are a tribal confederation established under the leadership of Shah Abbas in the 17th century to defend Iran’s borders alongside his army. Those who have not yet settled still spend their summers in the mountains along the Caspian Sea and migrate in winter to the plains south of Tehran and east of Hamadan.