[All of our pictures enlarge; click on any picture for a closer look. Text & images protected by copyright.] SILK MEDALLION RUG MouseRug® Silk Medallion Rug MouseRug, this design is inspired by a rug from the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Approximate Finished Size: 18.1 x 26 cm (including fringe) and approx. [4mm] in thickness. The silk medallion rug from which this MouseRug® is adapted belongs to a group of small Safavid silk rugs that are united by their clarity of design, delicate patterns, precise draftsmanship, weave structure, and size. Scholars have generally agreed that the silk carpets and rugs in this group were made in Kashan, an important Persian mercantile center for silk products, during the second half of the sixteenth century. The superb quality of this rug and its lavish materials indicate that it was produced in a royal workshop. Its complex designs suggest that painters, presumably miniaturists from royal ateliers, directed the artisans who made them. The use of pure silk pile created a richer surface sheen and more luminous coloring than wool, and the high density of knotting required to work with the material resulted in unusually refined detail. Although the precise function of the small silk Kashans is unknown, it is doubtful that they were ever intended as floor coverings and may have been bestowed as imperial gifts. Silk Medallion Rug, late 16th century. Probably Kashan. Silk pile on silk warp and weft, 240 x 173 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Widener Collection 1942.9.478. © National Gallery of Art.