The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2024

Woolen carpet with millefleurs decoration

Woolen carpet with millefleurs decoration

early 1600s
Pashmina (wool): asymmetrical knot
Average: 292.7 x 248.9 cm (115 1/4 x 98 in.)
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1936.17
Location: 242B Indian Painting

Did You Know?

The border contrasts with the central design, putting red flowers against a white background.

Description

Pashmina, a very fine fiber made from the fleece of Himalayan goats, was a material highly valued at the Mughal courts. Luxury rugs functioned in several ways, including as insulators for palatial and ceremonial spaces and as framing devices for important figures. In a biography of the Mughal emperor Akbar (reigned 1556–1605), called the Ain-i-Akbari, the court historian Abu’l Fazl (1551–1602) poetically wrote that such textiles created “a beautiful flowerbed.” The description is apt, as this carpet features an impressively symmetrical floral design known as millefleurs, or “thousand flowers” in French. Viewing several of these carpets and other hangings at once would have been visually impressive for court attendees.
  • Sultan Abdul Aziz
    Henry G. Marquand, Esq. [1819–1902], New York, NY
    ?–1936
    (P. W. French and Co., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1936–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Comstock, Helen. “An Indo-Persian Carpet for the Cleveland Museum.” The Connoisseur XCVIII (July 1936): 41-42.
    Comstock, Helen. “An Indo-Persian Carpet for the Cleveland Museum.” The Connoisseur XCVIII (July 1936): 41-42.
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 784 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 240 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 240 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 311 archive.org
  • Carpets and Canopies in Mughal India​ (Indian art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 22-September 8, 2024).
    Nature Supernatural (Indian Painting rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 22, 2023-March 3, 2024).
    Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).
    India's Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 2, 1949-January 22, 1950).
    The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936).
    Autumn Flower Show. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 1-December 1, 1935).
  • {{cite web|title=Woolen carpet with millefleurs decoration|url=false|author=|year=early 1600s|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1936.17