In 2006, The Met launched an ambitious three-year conservation program to stabilize the condition of The Emperor’s Carpet.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) is home to some of the world’s most incredible works of art. In The Met’s collection is the sixteenth-century Emperor’s Carpet from Safavid Iran. The carpet was acquired by The Met in 1941, but its condition was so fragile that it was only displayed for the public twice over the next sixty years.
The program involved the careful examination of the carpet’s fibers, dyes, and structure. It also included the use of advanced imaging technology to create a detailed map of the carpet’s condition. The conservation project was a success and the carpet’s lustrous wools and dazzling colors are now on display at The Met on a regular basis.
The conservation of the Emperor’s Carpet is a remarkable success story. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the museum’s conservation team, the public can now enjoy this incredible work of art for years to come.
I invite you to view “Conserving The Emperor’s Carpet, which documents the conservation program.
“One of the finest products of the Safavid court ateliers, this carpet once adorned the summer residence of the Habsburg emperors. The main field balances a sophisticated net of floral scrolls, large composite palmettes, cloud bands, buds, and blossoms with a myriad of real and fictional animals—dragons and Chinese antelope, lion and buffalo, tigers and leopards, ducks and pheasants. A verse found in the inner guard band likens a garden in springtime to the Garden of Paradise.” The Met Museum
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