Palmette Flower (Shah Abbasi) Design


This statement is generally used for designs and images related to Safavid era: Simple and compound multi-petal flowers, twisting curves, Arabesque designs and images resembling Chinese clouds. Different kinds of Shah Abbasi designs are: All-Over, Corner-Medallion, Tree, Animal, Sheykh Safi, Series of Turreted, Omitted (Shah Abbasi design with some changes), Turreted Paisley Medallion and Plain-weave Corner-Medallion design.

All-Over Palmette Flower design
The ground of this kind of carpet is fully covered by overlapping leaves, arabesque and Chinese flowers and curves and arch lines. In some designs we can see animals among leaves and branches. All these are surrounded by narrow or wide margins. Margins include roses, palm leaves or some geometrical images. Palmette All-Over flower design lacks the central Medallion and four-corners of the ground. Despite the repeated All-Over flower design, the lower row designs are not repeated in upper rows and they just become symmetry form the midline of carpet.

Corner-Medallion (Shah Abbasi) design
It was used to decorate the leather book covers, before being used by carpet weavers. In this design, the central medallion, either circular or diamond shaped, is surrounded by four similar shapes named “Corner” (Lachak) in four corners of carpet. In many cases, corners are derived from medallion shapes. Medallion includes Palmette, abstract leaves and other images. A background produced within the space between corners and central medallion, is elliptical and ends to the margins. Designs without corners are named “Shah Abbasi medallion” design.

Shah Abbasi “Animal” design
These carpets are commonly woven in Kerman and Qom. These designs are a variety of Artists tastes in combining the traditional images and animals. The carpet design is full of “Shah Abbasi” and “Chinese” flowers surrounded by corners and margins containing animals. In this design, stags, wolves, lions and gazelles are hopping in harmony with twisting branches.

Shah Abbasi “Turreted” design
The turreted all around the ground, is the characteristic of this design. Thus, corners are not a quarter of medallion, but go round the whole ground.

Shah Abbasi “Sheykh Safi” design
This design is an inspiration of Sheykh Safiedine Ardebili’s Tomb. Central Medallion, is surrounded by many flowers (called melon-shape flowers). These flowers are also used for corners (that each one has the size of a quarter of central medallion). Margin designs are a combination of Sheykh Safi carpet’s panels and inscriptive, that are arranged alternately. Flowers are among these patterns. Two lantern shapes are used instead of two ends of medallion.

Omitted Palmette Flower design (Shah Abbasi Tasarrofi)
The main factors are the same as Shah Abbasi images; but some changes made such as omitting corners and using half-medallions in ground of the main structure.