The elegant floral design with birds and fishes is a recurring theme in Persian carpets. It evokes the lushness of oriental gardens depicted in various patterns.
Parrots, not being migratory birds, were imported from India and were forced to adapt to the Persian climate. This explains why in Persian literature parrots symbolise exile, solitude and longing for the homeland.
At the end of the 19th century, Mushkabad, Sarouk and Mahal (north-western Persia), produced carpets of very high quality.
Originally the rugs were mainly for local use. It was not until 1875 that exports to the West reached unprecedented proportions. Large exhibitions of Islamic art held in Vienna and Paris (the first of their kind), reinforced the craze for oriental carpets.
At the end of the 19th century, Mushkabad, Sarouk and Mahal (north-western Persia), produced carpets of very high quality.
Originally the rugs were mainly for local use. It was not until 1875 that exports to the West reached unprecedented proportions. Large exhibitions of Islamic art held in Vienna and Paris (the first of their kind), reinforced the craze for oriental carpets.