TTTS, 2025

The Ardabil Carpets, twin Persian rugs from the 16th century, were created for the shrine of Shaykh Safi al-Din Ardabili in Iran. By the late 19th century, both the shrine and the carpets had deteriorated. To fund repairs, local custodians sold the rugs, which were eventually acquired by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A).

At the V&A, one carpet was restored using fragments from its twin, erasing their paired existence to fabricate the illusion of a singular, “authentic” artifact. By concealing restoration efforts, museums acted as instruments of soft power, presenting Iran as a mystical land of wisdom, ripe for exploration and exploitation.The fate of the fragmented twin’s history resurfaced in 2011, tied to covert agreements. Now at LACMA, its remains reveal how cultural objects, often dismissed as decorative, are manipulated to sustain power structures. The story of the Carpets illustrates how art curation frequently sanitizes ornamental art as cultural heritage to fit ideological agendas.