Ontwerp voor een tapijt c. 1854 - 1864

This design for a carpet, by an anonymous artist, is a watercolour on paper. We might consider how carpets function as cultural objects, signs of status and belonging, and how this design, with its dense patterning, draws on a rich vocabulary of motifs. If we knew when and where it was made, we could begin to investigate the textile industry of that time and place. We could ask, for example, whether the design makes reference to carpets from Persia or the Ottoman Empire, places known for their production of fine carpets. Was this design part of a movement to indigenize carpet production, or to emulate and surpass existing models? Who was the intended consumer? By researching patterns, production techniques, and trade routes, a historian can begin to connect this carpet design with the social and economic history of its time. What appears at first glance to be simply a decorative piece can tell us much about the world in which it was made.