Analysis of the writings of western tourists about Iran carpet in and Safavid periods Ağ Qoyunlu the late

 
Safavid era is considered as one of the most influential periods of history in Iran. There exists plenty of written works about understanding the social, cultural and artistic changes. The theoretical knowledge of Iran carpet in historical periods needs to consider the historical documents. In this regard, travelogues written in Safavid period can shed further light on the information available about Iran carpet. The present study attempted to focus mainly on above-mentioned information about Iran carpet in the travelogues. The main purpose of the research is to identify the attitude of the western tourists as well as subjects of hand woven carpet reflected in travelogues in Safavid period. Specifically, this study examined why the information about Iran carpets in Safavid period should exist in travelogues and how the other related subjects were presented in that period. Indeed, the aim of study focuses on the variety and the geographical position of weaving, the applications, materials and dimensions of the carpets. The research method is historical-descriptive and the data analysis method is qualitative. The data were gathered through library studies and the statistical sample consisting 24 travelogues. It is noteworthy that the present study focused on 21 travelogues texts in which carpet subjects were scrutinized. The results indicated that carpet had various applications in this period and plenty of information can be attained by the text of these travelogues. However, the results revealed that despite the fact that the technical information such as the raw materials, weaving style, applications and geographical position of carpet weaving have been reflected in the travelogues and the western authors have frequently mentioned Iran carpet in their notes, no instance of the artistic aspects such as design, pattern, color and even the aesthetic properties can be tracked.