The Ardabil Carpet

We visited the Victoria and Albert Museum last May, and we were fascinated by the diverse collection.  We were not impressed by their lack of guidebooks, though.  (It is understandable considering the vastness of their collection, though...)  Anyway, my husband recently found a book at the library that's a pretty good overview of the V&A - from the '70s.  It reminded me of the amazing things that we saw there.  One incredible piece is the Ardabil Carpet.  It was woven in the 1530s as one of a pair.  They were sold in the late 19th century, and one was used to patch the other.  William Morris viewed the more complete carpet in 1892 and urged the museum to purchase it.  It is gigantic - and fragile.  It is only lit for 10 minutes at a time on the hour and half-hour.