Inspiration Everywhere – Hunting Scene

When looking for inspiration for his modern carpet designs, owner and lead designer Bahram Shabahang discovers the ideas for his carpet designs all around him. Dive into this week’s “Inspiration Everywhere” to learn more about our chic but playful wool and silk carpet, titled Hunting Scene, and the inspiration that led to its creation. 

Compared to the rest of the Orley Shabahang Animal Collection, Hunting Scene utilizes quite an unusual design. The figures appear playful rather than dramatic, while the lighter colorway provides a brighter overall feeling. Two leopards, in athletic poses, ascend in eight groups and are detailed in a cool hue of gray silk. The silk detailing contrasts with the cream background. The contrast provides the design with incredible clarity and definition. With this carpet measuring 8’1″ x 10’5″, the large-scale pattern is spacious enough to accommodate furniture, such as coffee tables, dining room tables, or sofas. The fringe has a canvas wrap sewn on, providing the carpet a chic look and allowing for easy cleaning. Though this contemporary design reads minimalist, the leopard motif originates from one of our antique Ghashghai carpets.

As part of the Orley Shabahang Antique collection, lead designer Bahram Shabahang loved how the cheetah motifs appear joyous and playful. As with most traditional Persian designs, Bahram recreated this motif in a modern carpet by adjusting its outline, pattern, and scale to fill the neutral cream background with a simplified and tranquil design. Symbolism also played a factor when creating this pattern. Lions, leopards, and cheetahs symbolize spiritual leaders within Persian textiles.

Crafted in Iran in 2015, the master weavers that created Hunting Scene utilized a hand-knotted weave, exclusive to Orley Shabahang, that we call Meyghan. This weave requires traditional Persian weaving techniques to create the super soft pile and the functional foundation. Wool, exclusively shorn from the Persian fat-tailed sheep, must be hand-spun and organically dyed. This hand-spinning process creates irresistible striations within the cream background. This neutral cream tone is derived from all-natural undyed wool. The yarn, once dyed, must be rinsed in natural spring water and then baked in the sun to set the patina. Once baked and dried, the hand-spun yarn must be hand-knotted into the foundation. To most, this extraneous process may seem excessive, but exemplary quality carpets require tedious fabrication to create the family heirlooms of tomorrow.

If this modern Persian Hunting Scene interests you, check out the rest of our Animal collection via our website at orleyshabahang.com. Check out our digital showroom on 1stdibs.com to catch up on the newest inventory!