AUSTRIAN HUNTING CARPET

Persian floor covering of silk, enriched with gold and silver, made in Kashan, Iran, in the last half of the 16th century. Its design, apparently following the cartoon of a master miniaturist, shows horsemen in pursuit of deer, and winged gods chasing lions and buffaloes. Its border, showing angels in paradise, is remarkable in being unlike that of any other classical Persian carpet. It was the gift of Peter the Great to the Austrian emperor and is now displayed in the Austrian Museum for Applied Art, Vienna.