The history of the Mughal Empire in India extends over a period from 1526 to 1857. It was founded in 1526 when Zahir-ud-Din Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the Sultan of Delhi in the battle of Panipat.

The earliest examples of Mughal carpets  date to the reign of Jalal-ud-Din Akbar (r. 1556-1605). His court workshops  produced carpets under Persian influence, incorporating also Indian elements;  in this way the typical Mughal carpet emerged.  Akbar’s   successors  Nur-ud-Din Jahangir (r. 1605-1627)  and Shah Jahan (1628-58) continued to sponsor the production of  carpets.

Mughal  carpets were used for various purposes i. e. as decorative table cover, as awall hanging or as carpets proper.

In contrast to manufacturing methods elsewhere , Mughal carpets were made primarily of wool. Not only warp and weft were made of wool but also the pile.  While Persian carpets have warps with only four  threads, the number of threads used for Indian carpets may vary from six to twelvefold twisted threads.

The carpet  here is a fine and exquisite example of Mughal carpets. It has been in possession of the Museum since 1907, when the Handelsmuseum of Vienna was dissolved and its collection was taken over by the Museum für angewandte Kunst. Further details about the  provenance of the carpet are not known.  It was produced around 1600, most probably at Lahore (now  in Pakistan) which formed part of the Mughal empire. Based on its horizontal design scholars believe that it was used as a wall hanging.

The carpet shows a new naturalistic asymmetrical  motif, presenting a garden scenery with birds arranged in pairs on a red background. The image consists of three super-imposed areas, each showing different types and sizes of trees, bushes and birds. The center scenes are framed by a border set between two narrower margins. The main border shows flamed palmettes with animal masks, leopards and  blossoms joined  by a white garland.

The  naturalistic design of the carpet  reflects the  interest of the Mughal dynasty in nature which  can also be seen in miniature paintings of this period.  The famous Hamzanama (Adventures of Hamza) commissioned by Akbar shows a similar presentation of trees and  flowers. Sixty pages of this  manuscript are with the Museum für angewandte Kunst .

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Based on German text by Judith Stöckl

Bibliography:

Gans- Ruedin, Erwin, Der Indische Teppich. Bussesche Verlagshandlung GmbH, Herford und Office du Livre Fribourg (Schweiz), 1984

Kühnel, Ernst, Die Kunst des Islam. Alfred Kröne Verlag, Stuttgart 1962

Riegl, Alois, Altorientalische Teppiche. Mäander Kunstverlag Mittenwald, 1979

Schimmel, Annemarie, Die Welt des Islam: zu den Quellen des muslimischen Orients; eine Reise nach Innen. Walter- Verlag AG, Solothurn; Düsseldorf 1995

Schimmel, Annemarie, Im Reich der Großmoguln: Geschichte, Kunst, Kultur.Verlag C.H. Beck oHG, München 2000

Völker, Angela, Die orientalischen Knüpfteppiche im MAK. 2001,MAK, Wien und Böhlau Verlag Ges.m.b.H. und Co. KG

Walker, Daniel, Flowers Underfoot, Indian Carpets of the Mughal Era.Thames and Hudson Ltd, London 1998