Motifs and Symbols in ‘Polonaise’ Kilims By: Adrianna Scibor, graduate student, GW Museum Studies Program Abstract: At the Paris World's Fair of 1878, visitors could view a Persian carpet created with a Polish royal family coat of arms. This type of carpet was dubbed a “Polonaise” kilim in 1878. The term, still used by many, refers to kilims actually made not in Poland, but in Persia during the Safavid era. This project will focus on motifs and symbols in “Polonaise” kilims starting from the 16th century. Sheila Blair and Jonathan Bloom describe ‘Polonaise’ kilims by writing:   “Almost all of the Polonaise carpets share a similar arrangement; with several borders and guard bands of varying width enclosing a rectangular field. The field contains one or more central medallions in the corners. The ground is an arabesque of flowers and leaves spiraling in a stately rhythm over the field, making the anachronistic epithet oddly appropriate” (The art and architecture of Islam 1250-1800, 176-177). Motif: Central medallion Symbols: Flowers and leaves Motif: Coat of arms/ central medallion Symbols: Flowers and leaves Safavid kilim with the coat of arms of Sigismund III Vasa. ca. 1602. Private collection. Symbols: Flowers and leaves Detail of the Doria Polonaise carpet. ca. early 17th century. Made in Iran. Currently at The Carpet Museum in Tehran, Iran. Found in The Art and Architecture of Islam 1250-1800 by: Sheila S. Blair and Jonathan M. Bloom. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994. Print. Polonaise Carpet. c. 1600-1625. Made in Isfahan, Iran (Persia). Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.