Indian Antiquities

Carpet in the Marble Hall

Location: Marble Hall

This category of carpet represent the motifs of classic Persian carpets whose design dates back to the legendary " Garden Carpet”, mentioned in Persian literature related to carpets and rugs. It represents an aerial view of the garden, divided into compartments that contain flowers and trees. Water channels are woven as dividers of the composition into various segments in vertical rows in pastel shades. The field is covered with flowering shrubs, trees blossoming with flowers and fruits, leaves and other vegetal motifs. All the elements are entwined with floral arabesques.

These form an interconnected mesh of different motifs, spread all over the carpet. They reflect the fine craftsmanship of the weavers in executing Persian motifs in their appropriate formulation. These carpets were also woven by Kashmiri karigars, as Edwin Lutyens sought to revive the high Persian standards of Shah Abbas’s sovereignty. It was estimated that magnificent carpets of the Ganatantra Mandap, Dining room and the Drawing room alone comprise 279,000,000 knots. An enormous 7000 miles of wool was used to create these masterpieces of Persian elegance. These were made especially according to the measurements of the specific rooms which is again reflective of dedicated skill of the Kashmiri weavers.