Fine Mohtasham Kashan Carpet
Central Persia
The soft terracotta field richly decorated with flowering vines and palmettes around a pale lemon pole medallion framed by indigo spandrels and ivory borders of angular fruiting vines between multiple flowerhead minor borders and arrowhead outer guard stripes, inscription panel to one end, 354cm by 267cm

The inscription reads: By the order of Ali Akbar Mirzai

Research suggests that a workshop owned by Hajji Mollah Mohammad Hassan Mohtasham was established in the 1840's in the city of Kashan. Rugs and carpets piled in either silk or wool were made. From the outset the quality of these weavings was exceptional, consequently output was very limited. Designs were intricate and a combination of excellent quality dyes and 'kurk' (soft) merino wool together with the Hajji's exacting standards ensured that these weavings were immediately considered the best of the period both in Persia and Europe. Mohtasham rugs were presented to the Shah by Persian nobles and also given by the Shah to his highest ranking foreign guests. The wool used in the pile produced a lustrous velvet tactile feel but as a result it did not prove as durable as carpets made with rougher wool. It is therefore rare to find Mohtasham weavings in full pile. The Hajji retired during the 1880's passing on the workshop to his son who continued to produce outstanding carpets until the first decade of the twentieth century. The current carpet dates from the 1890's and given the soft palette is attributable to the second generation of the Mohtasham family.