Closer Look: Carpet with Trees

In this episode of Closer Look, Edie Paczkowski, Ayesha Bulchandani Education Intern, discusses the rare Carpet with Trees on display on the third floor of Frick Madison. Edie traces the carpet’s journeys from Mughal India to Europe and the United States, paying homage to the skilled weavers and conservators who, separated by centuries, have allowed us to enjoy this splendid work of art. This is the first episode in a series of three, featuring the Education Department's 2023 summer interns each taking an in-depth look at one object in our collection.

Carpet with Trees

1:55: Mihr Chand (act. 1759–1786), Moghul Palace Garden in Perspective, 1780, watercolor on paper, Museum für Islamische Kunst, Berlin

2:21 & 2:56: Unknown artist, Bird’s-Eye View of the Taj Mahal at Agra, 1790–1810, opaque watercolor and ink on paper, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, D.C. Public domain.

2:27: Chitarman (act. ca. 1627–1670), Shah Jahan on a Terrace, Holding a Pendant Set with His Portrait, folio from the Shah Jahan Album, 1627–28, ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

2:35: Bichitr (act. ca. 1610–1660) and Ramdas (act. 17th century), Shah-Jahan Receives His Three Eldest Sons and Asaf Khan during His Accession Ceremonies, folio 51r from a manuscript of the “Padshahnama,” ca. 1630–40, opaque watercolor with gold and silver metallic paints and decorative incising on paper, The Royal Collection Trust

2:45: Unknown artist, Diwan of Ofri, detail of Two Women in a Garden, Mughal miniature, 1637, courtesy of Artstor

4:40: Unknown artist, Shah Jahan in Durbar, ca. 1650, gouache on paper, British Library, Add.Or.3853

5:05: Unknown artist, A Pile-Carpet Loom Being Worked at Hunsur (Mysore, Southern India), 1850, pen and ink and watercolor on paper, British Library, Add.Or.755

7:02: Frick Enamels Room, 1927, The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Archives

9:06: Left: Gentile da Fabriano (ca. 1370–1427), Madonna and Child, with Saints Lawrence and Julian, 1423−25, tempera on panel. Right: Paolo Veneziano (ca. 1295–1362) with Giovanni Veneziano (act. 1333–1358), The Coronation of the Virgin, 1358, tempera on panel, both works at The Frick Collection

© 2023 The Frick Collection