The Getty Museum published a booklet, The Ardabil Carpets (Malibu 1974) by Rexford Stead, that answers some questions about these magnificent artifacts. The Getty Ardabil was cannibalized to complete the V&A example, but there are probably fragments still “out there”. According to Mr. Stead, about 1972 one such was offered to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art by Mr. Eric Binns of Surrey; it was an inheritance from his father, who obtained it in Tabriz (no date given). I’m pretty sure copies of the booklet, if not the Ardabils themselves, are still available at a reasonable price.
Lloyd Kannenberg
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