Qum Pictorial Persepolis Ivory

Qum — established in the twentieth century as Iran's pre-eminent centre for ultra-fine silk weaving — produces carpets of unrivalled knot density and chromatic precision, earning them a place among the most collectible textiles in the world.

This large-format piece presents an extraordinary pictorial program drawn directly from the Achaemenid reliefs of Persepolis: the lower register unfolds as a processional frieze of tribute-bearers, spear-carriers, and ceremonial attendants rendered in warm terracotta and slate against an antique ivory ground, while the central field erupts into a dense, bilaterally arranged composition of rearing horses, winged griffins, lion hunts, and columned palace facades — all animated by flowering vine scrollwork that fills every negative space with restless botanical energy.

A bold indigo main border, structured into rectangular cartouche panels and flanked by fine reciprocal guard stripes in ivory and copper gold, contains the composition with architectural authority. The palette — dominated by warm ivory deepening to copper and terracotta at the centre, cooled by precise accents of indigo and slate grey — is characteristic of the high-period Qum silk tradition, where natural dye harmonics are replicated through exceptional yarn preparation. A work of this iconographic ambition and technical density sits at the intersection of carpet and manuscript illumination, equally suited to institutional display or a serious private collection.