Exclusive: After 70 Years, The Sarajevo Fragments Of The Safavid Carpets Are Exhibited Again

The famous Sarajevo fragments from the 17th century are once again displayed at the National Museum and the exhibition will be open for public until February 2019.

The exhibition 'Sarajevo Fragments of the Safavid Carpets from the 17th Century' is on view at the National Museum in Sarajevo. The exhibition was organized on the occasion of the 130th Anniversary of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The special guest of the exhibition was Alberto Boralevi, one of the largest experts in this field. The exhibition was opened by Mirsad Sijaric, Director of the National Museum, Marica Filipovic, Curator of the Exhibition, Alberto Boralevi, Chairman of the International Conference of Oriental Carpets and Abdullah Skaka, Mayor of Sarajevo.

L-R - top: Mirsad Sijaric, Director of the National Museum, Marica Filipovic, Curator of the Exhibition, L-R. bottom: Alberto Boralevi, Chairman of the International Conference of Oriental Carpets and Abdullah Skaka, Mayor of Sarajevo / Photo © Islamic Arts Magazine

L-R. Marica Filipovic, Abdullah Skaka, Mirsad Sijaric / Photo © Islamic Arts Magazine

Marica Filipovic, the curator of the exhibition explains the chronograms Photo © Islamic Arts Magazine

The largest fragment has the signature and the date of creation. This is especially important to emphasize since next to this carpet, only three additional Safavid carpets have been preserved in the world, which contain the date and signature of the master artist. Dr Haris Dervisevic concluded that the largest fragment (7 x 3,65 m) dates to 1637 (H 1047), based on the chronogram on the edge of the carpet. The name of the master artisan signed on the carpet is Ustad Mu'min ibn Qutb al-Din Mahani.

The largest fragment of the Safavid vase carpet, 1637 (H 1047) by Ustad Mu'min ibn Qutb al-Din Mahani, The Collection of the National Museum in Sarajevo / Photo © Islamic Arts Magazine

Detail of the largest fragment of the Safavid vase carpet / Photo © Islamic Arts Magazine

The fragments that belong to the largest fragment of the Safavid vase carpet / Photo © Islamic Arts Magazine

The exhibited fragments belong to three carpets, the largest carpet is from 1637 and the other two are from 1656. The Sarajevo fragments originate from the endowment of the Shah Nimatullah at Mahan (Iran). On behalf of Austro-Hungarian authorities, B. Rakovszky, a former diplomat in Persia, was sent out in 1894 on an expedition with the task of acquiring items of artistic handicrafts. Rakovszky travelled throughout Persia and bought the fragments of the 17th-century carpet in the mausoleum of Shah Nimatullah Walli in Mahan, near Kirman, in the Southeast of the country.

The fragment of the Safavid vase carpet, 1656, The Collection of the National Museum in Sarajevo / Photo © Islamic Arts Magazine

For 70 years, the Sarajevo fragments were not on view, they were stored in a depot of the National Museum. Since there was only one black-and-white image published, many scholars thought that the fragments were not preserved. It was believed that they were destroyed during the last war in Bosnia. That is why this exhibition is such an exclusive news. Now, Sarajevo fragments of the Safavid carpets, are again on display and the exhibition will be open to the public until February 2019.