Amritzar Carpet

India-19th Century

355 x 383 cm

Although India in antiquity possessed no traditional carpet weaving culture craftsmen brought from Persia in the early 16th century were employed in court sponsored workshops that endeavored to produce high quality carpets. At first bearing almost unrecognizable affinity to contemporary Persian productions, over the course of a century an unmistakable Indian quality began to emerge. The carpets of the Mughal royal court were first unquestionably influenced by the Persian designs however eventually there emerged a distinctive style based on local Indian floral iconography. Once the metamorphosis from the Persian designs was complete, the distinctive fashion in which the Indian draftsmen reproduced the magnificent allusion of flowers had become unmistakable. Ironically, the carpets produced by Indian craftsman at the height of Mughal dynasty are now regarded to be the most technically sophisticated carpets ever woven.

The present carpet was mostly likely produced in Amritzar in a local Indian workshop sometime during the last quarter of the 19th century. The retified corner elements belie a professional drawing , or “cartoon”, to be used in order for the design to be executed to the designers precise wishes. The inner field of the carpet features symmetrically aligned “boteh” throughout while the border is a highly stylized version or the Persian “mina khani” repertoire.