A Safavid silk and metal thread brocade panel, possibly a floorspread, Central Persia,

As the choice of motifs used in this lot suggests, the makers of this textile closely followed the design patterns preferred by contemporary carpet weavers. The scrolling vines, the dominating primary border and the use of lush blue-greens and saturated rose colors are among the numerous similarities this piece shares with rugs woven in the city of Isphahan, where carpet production during the Safavid period was at its peak. Whereas carpets from Isphahan are distinguished by a central vertical axis along which the spiraling scrolls are arranged symmetrically, here the design elements are clearly positioned on horizontal rows, a function of the weaving technique . It has been suggested that many of the design elements in Isphahan weavings originate not only in Persian illuminations, but also in Ottoman Turkish art, see Dimand Mailey, Oriental Rugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1973, p. 69. Many motifs in Isphahan pieces can be found on Ottoman ceramics and textiles, and were most likely introduced to Persian art during the reign of Shah Abbas in the sixteenth century, when cultural and economic trade with the Ottoman Empire was particularly strong. Even though the current lot's naturalistically drawn flowers suggest an Ottoman influence stronger than in the case of pile carpets from Isphahan, the piece offered here is a true embodiment of Safavid splendour.