Qatar Museums is a pre-eminent institution for art and culture in Qatar, and consists of a vast network of museums, heritage sites, and programmes. This network is currently hosting an exhibition titled, Fashioning an Empire: Textiles from Safavid Iran till April 2024. The show consists of a selection of extraordinary textiles from the museum's collection and will be on view at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) in Doha, striving to highlight the importance of silk in the vibrant social, economic, and artistic life of the Safavid Empire in Iran in the 17th century.

Fashioning an Empire: Textiles from Safavid Iran is a curatorial project initially conceived by and presented at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, Washington DC, United States, from December 2021 to May 2022. This exhibition borrowed many of the showcased objects from MIA, as part of Qatar Creates. Planned under the direction of MIA curator Nicoletta Fazio, this edition of Fashioning an Empire in Doha has expanded the artefacts showcased in the original exhibition organised by the Smithsonian. While the exhibition at the Smithsonian was organised with a limited number of objects, this current iteration features more than a hundred works, from the MIA and Qatar Museums’ permanent collections. The exhibition also features objects on loan from the Qatar National Library which includes a wide selection of artefacts, among them 20 precious brocade silk textiles and 12 carpets from the Safavid period. A set of four full-length portraits, which provide a glimpse into the diverse population that characterised the Safavid imperial capital, Isfahan, are also presented. MIA curator Tara Desjardins supervised an additional section in the new exhibition to engage with local textile artists to create garments inspired by the exquisite textiles showcased in the exhibition.

The exhibition is divided into four interconnected sections. It begins by narrating a geographical and historical context in which the empire’s ruler, Shah Abbas I, monopolised the silk export and state-funded the textile industry. Focusing on the city of Isfahan, the second part explores the wonders of the prosperous Safavid capital and the empire’s commerce point. The third part looks into social art and practices of self-representation in Safavid society by showcasing remarkable examples of fashion, and historical textiles with contemporary illustrations and paintings. The fourth section bridges the past with the present, displaying a selection of specially commissioned pieces, garments, and handbags by Qatar-based designers inspired by Safavid textiles from MIA’s collection.

Before we dive further into the exhibition, we must explore the history of the Safavids as well. The Safavids took control of Iran after the Islamisation of this country in 656 AD. They are the first ethnically Persian, Farsi-speaking house that established an absolute monarchy divided from the Islamic Caliphate that ruled over most of the lost Sasanian lands 900 years after the fall of the last Persian Zoroastrian empire. The Safavids then proceeded to establish Shia Islam in Iran as the national religion. This is their other similarity to the Sasanians, as they too were a religious dynasty, but a Zoroastrian one. Historians believe that the Safavid’s ancestors were not originally Shia but converted to this path to establish a unique religious and national identity in order to distinguish Iran from Sunnis and oppose the rival Ottoman empire and neighbouring Arab lands. It was with this newly curated national identity and pride that Shah Abbas I managed to fight off the Portuguese invasion which sought to colonise the southern islands of the Persian Gulf. This monarch centralised the trades and state-funded the industries while he gave various trade monopolies to foreign Christian governments, envoys or communities, thus crippling Iranian traders. This led to high quantities of exports from Iran carried out by European and Armenian traders and significantly low imports; the result of which was the empire remaining unexposed to the new discoveries and innovations of the West and gradually falling behind.

At the heart of this was the silk industry. As a region historically on the Silk Road, by the 17^th century, Iran was a hub for silk production and magnificent textiles. After the settlement of the wealthy Armenian merchants in Isfahan, the trade routes for silk were almost completely in their control, while British ships also exported the silk from Hormuz Island in the south. Despite the reluctance to import, western art practices unsurprisingly found their way to Iran and revolutionised traditional miniature paintings. The two full-length oil portraits showcased in this exhibition are an authentic example of how Western art methods and composition were embraced by the Iranian artists and elite. By exploring the two paintings much can be discovered about the Abbas I era, and the politics of fashion.

The first painting depicts a gentleman. Whether he is a European diplomat, a Georgian individual, or an Armenian merchant, what makes it stand out is the scrupulously depicted figure and the skilful juxtaposition of Safavid and European artistic elements. The subject leans on a stick and is accompanied by a small white dog, a beloved import. He poses for the artist within an empty room, with a window revealing a serene and fading countryside landscape. From head to toe, the subject is attired in the latest Safavid fashion. His fur-trimmed coat harmonises with the colour scheme and design of a nearby silk fragment, and his turban features the popular chequered textile pattern seen on other figures in different artworks on display. Although the man's identity remains unknown, it is evident that he comfortably inhabits both the Safavid and European cultures.

The second is a portrait of an Armenian woman. While undoubtedly an idealised depiction, this lavishly attired woman likely represents one of the affluent Armenian families residing in Isfahan. She adorns herself in an exquisite, brocaded robe with a silver ground and a sleeveless velvet coat, which is believed to have Italian origins. In her hand, she delicately holds an intricate Venetian wine glass. Her imagined surroundings are equally opulent, featuring Italian marble floors, an intricately adorned column, and an extravagant vase. This emphasises the Armenians' familiarity with Western settings and their associated items. A nearly identical rendition of this artwork was recently identified in the Royal Collection of Great Britain. This discovery suggests that some Safavid oil portraits may have been created in multiple copies.

While the background and the receding landscape in both paintings along with the composition and the pose of the subjects are witness to the European impact on the arts in 17^th century Iran, the depicted details of the textiles reveal much about the self-expression of the trader class in the Safavid era. The intense colours and the unashamed patterns are the first elements of the garments that grab attention. Both subjects make use of intricate motifs, and gold and silk embroideries as status symbols in the sophisticated Isfahan society. Layering is another fashion technique that both paintings unravel. Both individuals wear different layers with varying patterns and dissimilar materials on top of each other. The more layers of rich textile one wears the higher they stand in the social ranks.

The paintings are juxtaposed with many miniature folios of the same era, showcasing silk-clad aristocracy boasting the magnificent patterns of their rich textiles with their styles. One of the folios depicts a young man nonchalantly draping his jacket over his shoulder. This piece of clothing seems to have been fashioned from gold-brocaded silk, resembling the ones on display from the museum’s collection. These coats are adorned with various floral patterns and are edged with fur imported from Russia, adding to their opulence. Historians believe it was exclusively the most affluent members of the Safavid society who could indulge in such excessive attire.

The exhibition juxtaposes the oil paintings and the folios with remarkable Safavid carpets and extravagant textiles from their collection. These exceptionally well-preserved pieces blend the Safavid desire for abstract artistry with the Mughal fascination for naturalistic depictions. It harmoniously combines recognisable flowers like irises and carnations with more stylised floral patterns, all set against a lavish golden backdrop. To achieve this radiant effect, gold foil was ingeniously incorporated into the fabric's weft. Isfahan was renowned for producing such opulent gold-brocaded silks known as zarbaft (literally meaning gold woven) which represented the most costly and delicate variety of silk textiles.

Although the carpets showcased in the exhibition might not be as eye-catching in comparison to the exquisite textiles, they are a remarkable example of what was achieved during the Safavids in carpet design aesthetics. The 17^th century witnessed an increasing rise in demand for Persian carpets as they became highly sought-after luxury items in Europe, particularly in Portugal. To effectively rival the Ottoman exports, the Safavids introduced a standardised design approach. They commissioned merged palmettes with intricate scrolling vines, elegant lancet leaves, and artistic cloud bands, drawing inspiration from Chinese artistic traditions. Typically, the primary background colour was red, encircled by either blue or green borders. The immense popularity of these Safavid carpets in Europe led to Mughal India producing similar examples, which added complexity to the task of pinpointing their true origin.

The last part of the exhibition is an attempt to connect Safavid fashion to the clothing styles of contemporary fashion design in Iran, a risky but necessary effort considering the attire limitations imposed by the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution. In a panel conversation carried out simultaneously with the original version of this exhibition in Washington DC, conducted by Masoumeh Farhad Chief Curator of Islamic Art at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution, carpet expert and designer Safora Zoroufchi remarks on the similarities of fashion styling of the Safavid era and the methods taken up by the Iranian youth to find ways of self-representation. The use of layering luxurious fabrics atop each other and leveraging lively colours and eccentric patterns as opposed to the state-preferred palate of black or shades of grey are connections that Zoroufchi makes during this discussion.

Although the selection of the artefacts curated in this exhibition only manages to showcase a small part of the Safavid treasures the smart juxtaposition of the textiles, with the miniature folios, paintings and carpets manage to narrate a coherent and remarkable story of the significance of silk and textile design in religion, history, politics, industry, social status and self-expression that still resonates with us today.