Woollen carpets were known in India as early as 500BC. But it was not until the 16th century, during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar, that the first imperial workshops were founded, and began producing carpets whose jewel-like beauty is still breathtaking today. The Mughal emperors were grand patrons of the arts, demanding the highest standards, and their influence is shown in the works of superb quality produced during their reign. Thi scholarly treatment of the subject is published to coincide with a major ...
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Woollen carpets were known in India as early as 500BC. But it was not until the 16th century, during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar, that the first imperial workshops were founded, and began producing carpets whose jewel-like beauty is still breathtaking today. The Mughal emperors were grand patrons of the arts, demanding the highest standards, and their influence is shown in the works of superb quality produced during their reign. Thi scholarly treatment of the subject is published to coincide with a major exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum, New York. Pile-woven carpets of the Mughal era are some of the most technically accomplished of all Oriental carpets. The book surveys these beautiful textiles, their technical characteristics, commerce and the history of the period. Over 70 carpets, some reproduced here for the first time, have been gathered worldwide from museums and private collections; they exemplify the "classical" period of Indian carpet weaving, which ended around 1800. The text is organized according to style and pattern but also traces the chronological development of carpet design: the Persian style with its fantastic animals and pictorial designs; the flower style in its many variations; and the later designs, including the "durbar" and the "millefleur".
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Seller's Description:
Good-Bumped and creased book with tears to the extremities, but not affecting the text block, may have remainder mark or previous owner's name-GOOD Oversized. PAPERBACK.
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Text block, boards and binding are pristine. Dust wrapper in fine, like new condition. Well packaged and promptly shipped from California. Partnered with Friends of the Library since 2010.
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As New in Fine jacket. Size: 4to 11"-13" tall; Sterling condition hardcover copy, with unbruised tips, tight binding, and clean internals, showing only very slight shelf-and edge-wear; not ex-library, with neither underlining nor highlighting anywhere. Burgundy colored cloth, with gilt lettering to spine and lovely gilt illustration to cover. Bright and shiny dust jacket, illustrated, showing only very minor wear, not price-clipped. One hundred forty-five illustrations, 108 being in full color, illustrating the finest Indian carpets in the Islamic/Mughal Era. Volume contains scholarly apparatus in the form of, e.g., notes, index, and bibliography. The book arose from a spectacular exhibition of 16th and 17th century carpets in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. xviii [2], 3-199 pp. Member, I.O.B.A., C.B.A., and adherent to the highest ethical standards. Additional postage may be required for oversize or especially heavy volumes, and for sets.
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VG. Size: 0.6 x 8.8 x 11.8 inches; Very nice and clean. Text free of highlighting and writing. Tightly bound. Due to weight, no foreign orders or domestic priority shipments accepted without prior arrangement as to shipping costs, which will exceed our usual rates. Editorial Reviews With the exhibition "Flowers Underfoot: Indian Carpets of the Mughal Era, " The Metropolitan Museum of Art paid tribute to India, as the country celebrates its fiftieth year of indepdendence. The exhibition featured works from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, the period during which Indian carpet weavers produced their most stunning works. Despite their breathtakingly delicate beauty, Indian carpets are little known even to carpet experts, so "Flowers Underfoot: Indian Carpets of the Mughal Era" and its accompanying catalogue are crucial additions to both the study of Indian art and carpet studies. Indian Carpets are very difficult to study as a group since there are about five hundred surviving pieces, a large number of which are scattered in private collections around the world. Consequently, a long period of research was necessary to gather information on the extant pieces and to have an understanding of this impressive body of material. The exhibition and its catalogue constitute the first in-depth study of Indian carpets and will surely take their rightful place in the history of carpet studies. The works in the exhibition represent the broad range of carpets produced during the most artistically creative and prolific period of the Mughal Empire. The discussion of carpets in the catalogue roughly follows a chronological development. The earliest works are from the period of the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605), an active patron who is believed to have established the first imperial carpet workshops in India. These carpets combine the dynamism of Akbar's reign with traces of Persian design (due to the large number of Persian artists who immigrated to India at this time). The basic elements of Mughal design were established during this period; they can also be traced in later works. Akbar's son Jahangir (r. 1605-27) succeeded to the throne, and his relatively peaceful period of rule allowed further concentration on the arts. The Persian style continued to dominate court aesthetics during Jahangir's reign, but it became quite different from its Persian prototypes and acquired a distinctly Indian character. It was during the reign of Jahangir's son, Shah Jahan (r. 1628-58) that the flower style in Indian art came into popular use. This aesthetic was characterized by naturalistic flowers, either arranged in rows or against a plain background. The flower style began to dominate not only carpet design but all aspects of Mughal art. 220 pages.