There is a host of historical Persian rugs on display in museums all across the world, but the oldest of the kind dating back to 2,500 years ago is kept in State Hermitage Museum in the Russian Federation.
The art of tapestry was prevalent during the reign of the Seljuk Dynasty and the Ilkhanate period, especially in the historical Azerbaijan region. The art moved towards perfection in Timurid and Safavid dynasties.
During the Safavid era, new patterns were introduced. In the same period, the color variety and details of the carpets were so improved that curtain carpets emerged.
Export of rugs from Iran began during Timurid and Safavid eras to Turkey and Europe, giving tapestry an industrial production dimension, so many carpet production workshops were aroused in Esfahan, Tabriz, Kashan, Kerman, and parts of Khorasan province.
The Persian carpets have since come to global fame, with a lot of fans eager to have them in their houses or workplaces.
The oldest extant Persian rug, called the Pazyryk Carpet, was found by Sergei Ivanovich Rudenko in 1947–1949 in the Pazyryk Valley in the Altai Mountains, Siberia, south of the modern city of Novosibirsk, Russia.
Estimated to be manufactured about 2,500 years ago, the Pazyryk Carpet measures 183 cm × 200 cm and is now kept in State Hermitage Museum in the Russian Federation.
The designs in the carpet resemble the stone reliefs of Persepolis in southern Iran and its quality, according to experts, is no less than carpets manufactured today. This reinforces the speculation that the Pazyryk Carpet was made in a civilized society.
There are other well-known Persian carpets kept in renowned museums around the world, including Ardabil Carpet in Victoria and Albert Museum of London, Chelsea Carpet in Victoria and Albert Museum of London, and Hunting Carpet in Austrian Museum of Art and Industry.
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