The renovation work on the Tin-Roofed Palace was completed on 9 June 2008, and this date also saw the return of the oriental carpets in the collection of the Teresa Sahakian Foundation to the palace’s interiors.

The oriental carpets which are on display in the palace are part of a rich collection containing over six hundred carpets and other examples of decorative art related to the Orient, including woven items made using flat weaving techniques, embroidery, furniture and lamps.

The exhibits in this unusual and interesting collection were amassed over many years by the donor, Teresa Sahakian (1915-2007), a Polish lady resident in Belgium, and her husband, George, an Armenian and a diplomat, who had a remarkable knowledge of oriental art. He was also an expert in the field of oriental carpets. After the death of her husband in 1963, Teresa Sahakian continued to build up the collection. In the years 1989, 1991 and 2007 she donated the collection to the Royal Castle in Warsaw. The museum thus housed one of the largest collections of oriental carpets in the world. The carpets have been on display in the Tin-Roofed Palace since 1990.

The exhibits are representative of the four leading centres of carpet production: Persia, Anatolia, the Middle East, and Caucasus. The items on display reflect the Sahaikins’ predilection for Caucasian carpets, of which there is a very diverse selection that is very representative of that particular centre of carpet production.

 

The Dragon Carpet
Karabach, South Caucasus, ca. 1700
Collection of the Teresa Sahakian Foundation
 

Tekke Carpet
Middle East, end of the 19th century.
Collection of the Teresa Sahakian Foundation

 

Zejchur Carpet
East Caucasus, ca. 1900
Collection of the Teresa Sahakian Foundation