Hidden treasure of National Museums Scotland revealed: A silk rug with Tree of Life by Kashani master weaver Mohtasham

Abstract

• This fine silk rug features a large flowering tree. Likely never used, the multiple colours of the rug’s dazzling array of blossoms are magnificently preserved. The weaver of this exquisite piece, Hajj Molla Mohtasham, ran one of the most successful carpet manufactures in 19th-century Kashan. Mohtasham rugs are highly prized today although only very few can be safely attributed to his workshop. This rug is the only signed example known in a public collection. Bought by National Museums Scotland in 1899, the rug’s famous provenance has only recently been discovered. Principal Curator of West, South and Southeast Asian collections for National Museums Scotland Friederike Voigt will share insights into Mohtasham’s innovative carpet making in the 1850s.