IRAN, SECOND HALF 16TH CENTURY

This fragment shows a woman being led away by a Safavid courtier with an axe over his soldier amidst trees and a dense floral ground. Another panel from the same original is in the Victoria & Albert Museum (inv.34-1903). It is one of a group of known textiles which depict Safavid soldiers and courtiers leading away captives. This ‘prisoner’ group has had various interpretations as literary, with Ackerman believing another example to depict a scene from the Shahnama (P. Ackerman, Guide to the Exhibition of Persian Art, New York, 1940, p.3526). However, it is now widely accepted to be historical and celebrating the four successful campaigns of Shah Tahmasp into Georgia between 1540 and 1553. This conclusion is based on studying the clothing and facial attributes of the captives. In particular, our textile is thought to commemorate the raid against the city of Kartlia in 1553. It is likely that these silks, commemorating the Shah’s victories, would have held an important propagandic function in sixteenth century Safavid Iran.

The present fragment remains in good condition with a full vertical repeat and very nearly a full horizontal repeat and a half. It is rare to have black thread retained in Safavid textiles of this age which here serves to strongly preserve the face of the soldier and his captive. Another large fragment, again of similar condition, was displayed at the Louvre, Paris, as part of the Georges Marteau Collection (M. Maury, Le goût de l’Orient, Exhibition Catalogue, Paris, 2019, cat.24). Further fragments from the ‘prisoner’ group are in the Museum of Fine Art, Boston (Inv.04.1622) and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Inv.52.20.12).