Rethinking the so-called Polish carpets

Abstract

The so-called Polish carpets were once believed to be woven on Polish looms, even though—as we now understand—they were (most likely) manufactured in the Persian cities of Kashan and Isfahan. Yet, the misattribution of these objects’ origins is still evident in the phrase by which they are referred to in most English-language art-historical accounts, ‘the so-called Polish carpets’. This essay explores the history of conceptualising these carpets’ artistic geography, from art historians’ belief in their fictional Polish provenience, to their appreciation as some of the most valuable Safavid-era Persian carpets, to recent attempts to move away from defining these objects’ geographic roots in definite terms. With conflicting theories about their artistic geographies vying for attention, ‘the so-called Polish carpets’ are serving here as a springboard for rethinking the spatial dimension of the practice of naming in Art History, particularly the paradox inherent in the idea of artistic origins.