Shah ‘Abbas
2009

To mark the exhibition Shah ‘Abbas: The Remaking of Iran, the British Museum commissioned Margo Selby to design and produce an exclusive scarf. The brief was to celebrate the pattern, colour and texture of the mosaic features found in Iranian Islamic architecture during the reign of Abbas the Great (1587-1629).

Margo often takes inspiration from design outside the world of textiles, and feels a particular affinity with architecture. Weaving is a methodical practice, and, like Islamic design, based on mathematical pattern and precision execution. Margo also responded to the colours – lapis lazuli, teal and burnished gold, in tribute to the astonishing aesthetics of Persian civilisation.