The Ardabil Carpet: The World’s Oldest Dated Carpet

Following on from last week's theme of rare and valuable carpets, we will this week be looking at the Ardabil Carpet - not only the oldest dated carpet in the world, but also one of the most beautiful and historically importance.

Originally produced as one of a matching pair, the carpets were produced during the rule of the Sagavid Shah Tahmasp I in the late 1530s for the shrine at Ardabil in north-west Iran. They are considered to be one of the best examples of the classical Persian school of carpet creations.

About The Ardabil Carpet

The carpets remained in the shrine until it suffered earthquake damage towards the end of the 19th century. At this point both carpets were sold to Ziegler & Co; a Manchester based firm who were involved in the carpet trade. Parts of one of the carpet were used to patch the other - the result being one ‘complete’ carpet and a smaller version without any border.

Described by the designer William Morris in 1892 as being ‘of singular perfection…logically and consistently beautiful’, the complete carpet was purchased for the Victoria and Albert Museum in London at a cost of £2,000. For many years it hung on the wall of the museum, until a display case was created in 2006 so that the carpet could be seen as intended - on the floor. The smaller would go on to be secretly sold to an American collector, before being passed to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1953.

Famous Copies

Over the years the Ardabil Carpet was copied on many occasions, from small rugs to full scale carpets. There is an ‘Ardabil’ at 10 Downing Street and it is believed Adolf Hitler had a copy in his Berlin office.

When you considered the size of the carpet, 10.5 metres by 5.3 metres, it is impressive that the entire surface of the carpet is covered by a single integrated design! If you're looking for an eye-catching carpet for your floor, feel free to pop in and see us at our showroom in Norwich!