The Legend of the Persian Carpet at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)

kash.sobhe

February 24, 2010

The Legend of the Persian Carpet

On January 18, 2010 I went to Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) to say good buy to the famous Ardabil and Coronation carpets which had been on display from November 14, 2009. I then went to the museum’s bookstore and bought two interesting books. Here, I am writing a review on one of them.

In The Legend of the Persian Carpet, by Tomie DePaola, readers are intrigued with pages full of colorful illustrations that describe how the Persian Carpet came to be. The book is a children’s book that is brightly illustrated, by Claire Ewart, from start to finish with pages that are so full of color a reader may feel like they are right there with the narrator telling the story.

The story is about a great King that lived in a land once called Persia. This king was very kind and generous to his people, he had a great diamond that he let everyone in the town come and see when the sun set at night. The book describes that at night, when the sun was setting, the diamond would be hit with light and send rays of color all through the great room that the king kept the diamond in. The king was very proud of his diamond and trusted his people.

DePaola then describes that one night a thief came into the room while the sun was setting and after it had set, the thief stole the diamond and ran off on his horse with the precious jewel. While the thief was riding away, the diamond caught a ray of light and temporarily blinded the thief with its brightness. The thief dropped the diamond and it shattered on the desert floor.
The king became very depressed, but then a little boy found the diamond out in the desert and took his king to the spot where it laid shattered. The king could not bring himself to leave this place, he couldn’t go back to the darkness that his palace now was. The little boy was very worried because without a king ruling, their land could be attacked.

The little boy set out with an idea to bring the king back to his palace. The little boy went to all of the weavers in Persia and convinced them to weave a massive rug that was filled with all of the colors of the rainbow. Something so bright and majestic, it would bring the king back to his ruling place, and make him happy. The little boy convinced the king to come back to the palace for a year and one day for them to complete the rug. If they did not complete it in that time, the king could leave.

The book efficiently illustrates all of the color and beauty of the diamond and the Persian rug that was brought to the king. All of the pages in this book are filled with color and joy; it is hard to not enjoy this easy read. The colorful pages are delightful and will lift the spirits of any reader. DePaola is a wonderful author, who gave the legend of the Persian carpet a wonderful story for readers to understand its beginnings. The illustrations by Ewart brought the story to life with beautiful drawings and colorful creations.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.rugidea.com
310-770-9085