Handmade carpets during the Safavid and Zandi eras in Iran

The history of handmade carpets during the Safavid and Zandi eras in Iran is very brilliant. The Safavid period (117-907 AH) can be considered the period of exaltation and glory of Iranian art. Safavid kings support Iranian carpet weaving art, From King Ismail I to Sultan Hussein Safavid, It caused the Safavid era to be called the golden age of Iranian carpet weaving. The peak of the promotion of the art of carpet weaving during the Safavid kings, especially Shah Ismail (930-907 AH) in Tabriz, Shah Tahmasb (930-984 AH) was in Qazvin and Shah Abbas (9961038 AH) was in Isfahan.
Shah Ismail invited a large number of designers and painters from Herat to Tabriz And under the supervision of Kamaluddin Behzad (a famous Iranian painter). Artists gathered in Tabriz and Shah Ismail set up large carpet weaving workshops.
Shah Tahmasb, the son of Shah Ismail, continued on his father’s path.
He was very interested in art. It is said that since his time, the Iranian carpet has been a very exquisite gift. It found a role and position in Iran’s relations with other countries. Many of the most famous and exquisite carpets in the history of Iran Among the famous and historical carpets of Ardabili in the reign of this king is the art lover.

Tabriz School in the Art of Iranian Carpet Weaving, a product of the reign of Shah Abbas, another Safavid king, Its capital in 1006 AH. Isfahan chose
And with his support of the art of carpet weaving, he became the founder of the Isfahan school. The art of carpet weaving reached its peak in this school.
The texture of large fabric rugs, The use of new materials in the weaving of carpets such as silk and gold and silver wires, as well as a fundamental change in the pattern of carpets, It was one of the most important and profound changes Which happened during the reign of Shah Abbas Safavid in the art of carpet weaving in Iran.

Many famous tourists like Delavalle (famous Italian tourist) And Jean Chardin (a famous French tourist) visited Iranian carpet weaving workshops during the reign of Shah Abbas Safavid And they are very fascinated by the art and elegance of Iranian carpets. They have written about the existence of several carpet weaving workshops in Isfahan, Mashhad, Kashan, Gilan , …. They produced handmade carpets in a very high order under supervision.
Some experts in the world believe in the history of handmade carpets during the Safavid and Zandi eras. For the first time in history, Safavid kings brought the art of carpet weaving from moving tribes and clans and villages and small towns to large cities. And they built a carpet factory.
However, one of the consequences of this production was the domination of the urban capitalist system over carpet weaving workshops.
Also, the effects of this factory production are in the service of employers and the artist’s hands The skilled craftsmen and painters, as well as the skilled fingers of the weavers, were skilled. Very famous traditional designs of Iranian carpets Such as pottery, tree, garden carpets, hunting grounds, bindings and frames, altar (animal), animal, Islamic, bergamot and sprinkler are the products of the Safavid era.

Sultan Hussein Safavid, the last king of the Safavid period, was overthrown by the Afghans in 1135. But the Afghan government’s domination of Iran did not last for several years. Nader Shah Afshar with the massacre of Afghans and headed by Ashraf Afghan, In 1148 he established the rule of the Afsharians, which lasted until 1161. However, during the Afshari era, due to numerous wars, His art of weaving did not flourish like the Safavid era,
However, the weaving of various exquisite carpets continued everywhere in Iran. Among the measures that seem to have been taken during the Afshari era, Nader Shah Afshar’s action was to revive the carpet weaving industry in Khorasan Which had made the city of Mashhad its capital.

During the Zandieh period (1163-1209), the art of carpet weaving was popular in many parts of Iran. Khorasan, Fars, Kerman, Herat, Kashan, Yazd, Boroujerd, Isfahan, Azerbaijan and Turkmen Sahara from Among the most important carpet weaving centers in this period.

In the history of handmade carpets during the Safavid, Zandi and Afsharian eras, None of them paid attention to the carpet weaving industry and the art of carpet weaving.