07/09/2026
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐫 𝐌𝐞𝐡𝐝𝐢 𝟑𝐃 𝐙𝐨𝐨 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐤 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐭
All hail! A unique work of modern art.
A staggering tour de force of pure genius.
Grand Master Morteza Mir Mehdi has been one of the giants of the silk art scene in Qom for half a century. Armed with all the experience and skill he has mustered during all this time, he has managed to concoct and create one spellbinding artwork of scintillating skill and beauty.
Please meet the ONLY 3D “soof” سوف rug he has woven: the definitive version of his acclaimed Zoo design, the finest of his limited series collection of animal carpets (perhaps half a dozen in 20 years).
ALL the motifs (birds, beasts, flowers, trees) are woven in embossed pile; whereas the entirety of the backdrop of both border and field is kilim woven i.e. carved out or devised. His talent for color coordination and relative scaling is spectacular and sublime.
There are so many layers of symbolism and beauty here. Note how all the land animals populate the borders while the field only has birds of various types. Admire how the field design mirrors the themes of the 13th century epic poem 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑶𝒇 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒅𝒔 by Farid Al Din Al Attar. Have you noticed the complete absence of any human figure or motif?
The Master weaver was so aware of the brilliance of his creation that he inscribed a famous verse of poetry alongside his signature:
این نه فرش است، گل نسرین است
پردهی دیدهی حورالعین است
This couplet first appeared in the famous Milan Hunting Carpet, a Safavid chef d’œuvre dating to 1552. It translates as:
𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙩, 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙚; 𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙫𝙚𝙞𝙡 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙞 𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙚.
Ostad Mir Mehdi, whom I’m proud to call a friend, was well aware this his creation was much more than a carpet. It is a vision 𝙤𝙛
