A signed 'PETAG' Tabriz carpet, Northwest Persia, of Safavid 'Vase' design, c. 386 x 295 cm.

The PETAG enterprise (Persische Teppiche A.G.), founded in Berlin in 1911, was established to restore the standards of Persian weaving at a time when industrial production had begun to undermine quality. Headed by the scholar Heinrich Jacoby—best known for his publication Eine Sammlung Orientalischer Teppiche (Berlin, 1923)—the firm set up a major weaving centre in Tabriz, dedicated to producing finely crafted carpets that could rival historical examples.

Key features of PETAG production include the use of exceptionally lustrous wool, natural vegetable dyes, and a subtle identifying device of three çintamani roundels, discreetly woven into the corner of the field or border. In the present carpet, this characteristic mark can be seen tucked into the corner of the field.

The designers frequently looked back to Safavid prototypes of the 16th century, consulting the pioneering publications of the period such as Friedrich Sarre’s Orientalische Teppiche (Vienna, 1892) and F. R. Martin’s A History of Oriental Carpets before 1800 (Stockholm, 1908). The current example adapts the celebrated ‘Vase’ carpet tradition of the Safavid court, reinterpreting its structure and ornamentation through a rebalanced and more contemporary colour scheme.