Nūshābād’s Zīlū: The Earliest Known Zīlū from Islamic Persia

Although zīlūproduction has been mentioned in the historical texts of the tenth century, the surviving examples belong to the sixteenth century onwards. Some scholars have considered a zīlūwoven in Maybod and dated 808/1405 as the earliest known zīlū, but they have mistaken in reading the date and it belongs to the Safavid period. The only known pre- Safavid zīlūis preserved in the Hermitage museum. Historians of Islamic art believe that this zīlūbears no date and introduce it as one of the masterpieces of Ilkhanid art. This paper with careful scrutiny of both artistic style and inscriptions offers a new suggestion for its weaving date. It can be hypothesized that this zīlūhas been woven in Ramadan 808/1406 in Nūshābād, a small town near Kashan. Thus it can be considered as the earliest dated zilu surviving from Islamic Persia. One of the important questions concerning this zīlūaddresses its function. Although other scholars considered this flatweave as a saf – carpet with repeated niche designs that may have been intended for large congregational mosques, use of Quranic inscriptions in a carpet, which would be trodden on by feet would have been disrespectful. Regarding the content of the inscriptions shows that it probably was a prayer rug and connects it to sufi circles.