Iran's Carpet Museum
Carpet-weaving is undoubtedly one of the most distinguished manifestations of Iranian culture and art, dating back to the Bronze Age, but as the materials used in carpets including wool and cotton, decay into dust during the course of time, archaeologists couldn't make any special discovery during the archaeological excavations. What has remained for us from the early ages as evidence of carpet-weaving are nothing more than a few pieces of worn-out rugs.
Such fragments do not help very much in recognizing the carpet-weaving characteristics of pre-Seljuk period (13th and 14th centuries AD). Among the oldest pieces discovered are those found in Eastern Turkestan, dating back to the third to fifth centuries AD, and also some of the hand-weavings of the Seljuks of Asia Minor on exhibit in Ala’edin Mosque in Konya and Ashrafoghlu Mosque in Beyshehir, Turkey. These pieces attracted the attention of researchers earlier this century, and now they are kept in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art in Istanbul and the Mowlana Museum in Konya.
In a unique archaeological excavation in 1949, the exceptional Pazyryk carpet was discovered among the ices of Pazyryk Valley, in Altai Mountains in Siberia. It was discovered in the grave of a Scythian prince by a group of Russian archaeologists under the supervision of professor Rudenko. Radiocarbon testing revealed that Pazyryk carpet was woven in the 5th century BC. This carpet is 1.83أ—2 meters and has 36 symmetrical knots per cm2.The advanced weaving technique used in the Pazyryk carpet indicates a long history of evolution and experience of this art. Most experts believe that the Pazyryk carpet is the final achievement of at least one thousand years of experience and history. According to this theory the art of carpet-weaving in Iran is at least 3500 years old.
In 1978, the founders of the Carpet Museum of Iran established this Museum with a limited number of Persian carpets and kilims, in order to revive and develop the art of carpet-weaving in the country, and to provide a source to satisfy the need for research about the historical background and evolution of this art.
The Carpet Museum of Iran, with its beautiful architecture and facade resembling a carpet-weaving loom is located on the northwest of Laleh Park in Tehran. On the first floor, masterpieces from centers like Esfahan, Kashan, Kerman, Khorasan, Kurdestan and Tabriz are presented. Normally, something around 135 pieces of rugs and carpets are on display. The Museum is an ideal place for researchers and art-lovers interested in Iranian handicrafts. There is a special library in the Museum, with nearly 3,500 volumes of books in Persian, Arabic, French, English, and German.
There is a movie-house in which you can watch films and see slides in the fields of fine and coarse carpet weaving.
The Museum serves other purposes such as research in the history of carpet weaving, purchase and maintenance of Persian carpets, and holding exhibitions of this much admired art abroad.
Sources:
carpetmuseum.ir
A travel Guide to Iran by M T Faramrzi
Other links:
Geography and History of Tehran
City of Damavand
The City of Rey
Tourist destinations in Ray (part2)
Azadi Sq.
