Rare and Recently Conserved Mughal Carpets on View at The Frick Collection

Red 17th century carpet with golden floral patterns

This spring and summer, visitors to The Frick Collection will have an opportunity to see two of the finest surviving examples of the carpet weaver’s art. These recently conserved Mughal carpets, one of which has never before been shown by the museum, are extremely rare and important fragments of larger works, and their exhibition has been keenly anticipated by enthusiasts and scholars in the field. Their treatment was undertaken by pre-eminent textile conservator Nobuko Kajitani, who has painstakingly returned the rugs to their original splendor over a period of four years. She first removed later embroidery and fringe. Then—bearing in mind the appearance of the original larger carpets from which they derive as well as their present state—she correctly rearranged the fragments in keeping with the original midseventeenth- century compositions. Thanks to this successful conservation project, it is now possible to admire the dazzling array of trees and flowers portrayed on the carpets’ surface. Presented as works of art in their own right, the carpets will be installed in the Frick’s Oval Room from May 10 through August 14, 2005. They will return to view on a rotating basis, the next occasion being in 2006, when the museum anticipates publishing an illustrated booklet with separate essays by Dr. Steven Cohen and Nobuko Kajitani. The conservation and presentation of Gardens of Eternal Spring: Two Newly Conserved Mughal Carpets has been generously supported by The Ahmanson Foundation, The Helen Clay Frick Foundation, and the Fellows of The Frick Collection. Andrew W. Mellon Fellow Xavier F. Salomon is coordinating the upcoming display.

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