Persian New Year: The Shrine Carpets of Mashad at the V&A London

To celebrate the Persian New Year a special lecture by Dr Hadi Maktabi will take place on 6th April 2017 at the V&A London. One of the worlds finest collections of Persian carpets is the Imam Reza shrine in Mashad, Iran. This is of paramount historic importance, because the shrine holdings were built up over centuries through pious donations, including Safavid and Mughal carpets gifted by major patrons such as Shah Abbas I (1571-1629) and many later rulers. Nonetheless this wonderful collection of rugs and carpets remains largely unpublished. This lecture describes the recent establishment in Mashad of new museum facilities, and Dr Maktabi's role there as an adviser. His lecture will be fully illustrated, with new images of the shrine's most beautiful and historic rugs and carpets.