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𝐀𝐧 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐤𝐚𝐩𝐢 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐤 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐭 with mythical animals and religious calligraphy.

‎A strong contender not only for carpet of the year but of the century. A carpet of kings, from the rare group gifted from the Shah of Persia to the Sultan of the Turks.

‎بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 🕋

أَلۡهَىٰكُمُ ٱلتَّكَاثُرُ
حَتَّىٰ زُرۡتُمُ ٱلۡمَقَابِرَ
كَلَّا سَوۡفَ تَعۡلَمُونَ
ثُمَّ كَلَّا سَوۡفَ تَعۡلَمُونَ
كَلَّا لَوۡ تَعۡلَمُونَ عِلۡمَ ٱلۡيَقِينِ
لَتَرَوُنَّ ٱلۡجَحِيمَ
ثُمَّ لَتَرَوُنَّهَا عَيۡنَ ٱلۡيَقِينِ
ثُمَّ لَتُسۡـَٔلُنَّ يَوۡمَئِذٍ عَنِ ٱلنَّعِيمِ

This masterpiece has tremendous colors, a ravishing sky blue and an irrepressible green. The mythical beasts are breathtaking and roam freely with impressive dynamism and motion. It is unbelievable how the fiery dragons are used to delineate the contours of the medallion and corner spandrels.

All the while, an elegant band of Quranic calligraphy in fine Thuluth ثلث script frames the composition. The entirety of Surat Al Takathor (#102) سورة التكاثر is inscribed along with the holy names of Allah, the Prophet Muhammad, and the first 4 Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman, and Ali. In a sensational sky blue.

The foundation is entirely silk. One of the finest carpets in the world, a dignified and ancient precursor to the far young Kumkapi cerpets that came later and are, in comparison, very commercial— which is saying a lot.

Such carpets are now thought to have been woven in royal Safavid ateliers in the 3rd quarter of the 1500s in Qazvin under Shah Tahmasp and given as diplomatic gifts to the Ottoman Sultans. They stayed in the Topkapı Palace until deaccessioned after the move to Dolmabahçe Palace and the financial struggles of the 1877-78 Russo-Ottoman war. They are named after the most famous member of this fantastic group, donated by George Salting in 1883 to the Victoria & Albert Museum (first as a loan, then a permanent bequest in 1910). For more ℹ️ visit 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.𝘷𝘢𝘮.𝘢𝘤.𝘶𝘬/𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮/𝘖54294/𝘵𝘩𝘦-𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘵-𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘵-𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯.

It was recently published on the back cover of the Winter 2025/2026 issue of @halimagazine