New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Calligraphy West of China," March 15, 1972–May 7, 1972, no catalogue.

Safavid period

This prayer rug or sajjadah, identified by its central niche design, the Qur’anic inscriptions in its border, and the names of God in its spandrels, is consistent with a group of carpets thought to have been a diplomatic gift from the Safavid Shah ‘Abbas I to the Ottoman sultan Murad III (r. 1574-95). Because some of the verses promote a Shiite perspective by referring to the intercession of Shiite imams with God, the group was apparently never used by the Sunni Ottomans.

This carpet feature warps in two colors-one of a natural, undyed fiber and the other of a rarely seen intense red-that are arranged in an irregular pattern. Microscopic investigation has revealed remnants of the original selvage, or the woven edge, which is similar to some of those found on the masterpiece Safavid Carpets from the early sixteenth century (copy from : https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/446951).

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/446951

Dimand, Maurice S. A Handbook of Mohammedan Decorative Arts. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1930. p. 240, ill. fig. 147 (b/w).

Harari, Ralph, and Richard Ettinghausen. A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present, edited by Arthur Upham Pope. Vol. I-VI. London and New York: Oxford University Press, 1938. ill. v. VI, pl. 1167.

Dimand, Maurice S. A Handbook of Muhammadan Art. 2nd rev. and enl. ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944. p. 288, ill. fig. 190 (b/w).

Dimand, Maurice S., and Jean Mailey. Oriental Rugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1973. no. 48, pp. 89, 113, ill. fig. 121 (b/w).

Berinstain, Valerie. Great Carpets of the World. New York: Vendome Press, 1996. p. 178, ill. pl. 153 (color).

Denny, Walter B. "Textiles and Carpets in the Metropolitan Museum's New ALTICALSA Galleries." Arts of Asia 2012 (2012). p. 102, ill. fig. 2 (color).