The Impact of Persian Literature on Oriental Carpets

(Left to right): Professors Hadi Maktabi and Asaad Khairallah

The Anis Makdisi Program in Literature held a lecture on March 11 entitled, “In the Footsteps of Majnun: The Impact of Persian Literature on Oriental Carpets,”  presented by Hadi Maktabi to a full audience in West Hall Auditorium B.

Maktabi, explaining that the relation between Persian literature and Oriental carpets is an issue that has not been studied thoroughly throughout the world despite its being a matter that dates back over a thousand years, said he would focus on the renowned legend of Majnun and its impact on Oriental carpets. The tale of Majnun, the Arabic word for crazy, revolves around Qays ibn al-Mulawwah’s love for Leila. Her father, however, prevented him from marrying his daughter, and he consequently went mad, earning the name “Majnun.” Several poems have been written about his love for Leila, spawning a vast array of Oriental carpets depicting the various stages of the legend, which Maktabi illustrated in generous quantity through slides accompanying his lecture.

 He explained that at first, depictions of the story were woven into expensive silk carpets that were not accessible to all the people, but only to the courts. Eventually, after the fall of the Safavid dynasty, silk was no longer the sole material used for textiles, but other more inexpensive material was used, allowing the people to access the illustrated carpets. Majnun was usually depicted dressed in blue rags during his period of madness, when he secluded himself in the wilderness. He is also usually depicted surrounded by animals he befriended during his stint in nature. Majnun’s disheveled image is usually set in contrast with the beautiful and clean image of Leila, who, despite her father’s disapproval of Majnun, still longed for him. Maktabi explained that depictions of Majnun and Leila persisted for centuries until the Islamic Revolution in Iran in the twentieth century, when carpets depicting legends were replaced with carpets promoting anti-West propaganda.

Hadi Maktabi earned his PhD from Oxford University in 2007 in Islamic arts. He has lectured at international conferences and museums in Washington, DC, London, St. Petersburg, and Istanbul. His academic papers have appeared in refereed journals, and he is currently working on a book on Persian carpets in the eighteenth century.