England: King Edward VI (12 October 1537 - 6 July 1553), represented standing on an oriental ('Holbein') carpet. Oil on canvas painting from the workshop of Master John (fl. 1525-1574), c. 1547. Edward VI was King of England and Ireland from 26 January 1547 until his death in 1553, crowned at the age of nine. He was the only surviving son of Henry VIII by his third wife, Jane Seymour. Due to his age, his realm was governed by a regency council. Edward's reign was marred by economic and social unrest, resulting in riot and rebellion. He waged an expensive and unsuccessful war with Scotland.
Oriental carpets more than two centuries old have rarely survived and are rarely represented in Islamic Art since Sunni Islam (and to a lesser extent Shia) eschews representational art in favour of precisely the repetetive geometric symbols and arabesques found, for example, in oriental carpets. This means that most examples of 17th century and earlier oriental carpets, mainly produced in Muslim lands, are only to be found in paintings from Christian lands where rich oriental carpets were associated with wealth, power and taste. Such carpets featured as an important decorative feature in paintings from the 14th century onwards, leading to the dichotomy that there are more depictions of oriental carpets produced before the 17th century in European paintings than there are actual oriental carpets surviving from the same period. Because of this European paintings have proved an invaluable source of reference for the study of the history of carpetmaking and carpets.
Size: 3000px × 5784px
Photo credit: © Pictures From History / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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