Persian Carpets: The Nation as a Transnational Commodity

by Minoo Moallem

Persian the Nation As a Transnational Commodity tracks the Persian carpet as an exotic and mythological object, as a commodity, and as an image from mid-nineteenth-century England to contemporary Iran and the Iranian diaspora. Following the journey of this single object, the book brings issues of labor into conversation with the politics of aesthetics. It focuses on the carpet as a commodity which crosses the boundaries of private and public, religious and secular, culture and economy, modern and traditional, home and diaspora, and art and commodity to tell the story of transnational interconnectivity. Bringing transnational feminist cultural studies, ethnography, and network studies within the same frame of reference, this book sheds light on Orientalia as civilizational objects that emerged as commodities in the encounter between the West and the many directly or indirectly colonized Middle Eastern and West Asian cultures, focusing on the specific example of Persian carpets as some of the most extensively valued and traded objects since colonial modernity.

160 pages, Hardcover

Published May 16, 2018

Reviews

[Elham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Persian Carpets: The Nation as a Transnational Commodity by Minoo Moallem was a deeply engaging and thought-provoking read for me. The book offers a multi-layered and innovative analysis of Persian carpets—not merely as commodities, but as cultural texts that mediate nationhood, memory, gender, aesthetics, and global capitalism. Moallem's exploration of the intersection between weaving, technology, the body, and diaspora is especially compelling.

That said, one point I found somewhat problematic was the author’s framing of Iran as having become a nation-state in the 19th or 20th century, similar to other modern nation-states. In my view, this perspective doesn’t fully account for cases like Iran or China, where long-standing civilizational and political continuities existed. While modern nation-building processes in Iran certainly intensified during the 20th century, they emerged from a much deeper historical foundation—one not easily explained through Eurocentric models of state formation.

Despite this critique, I found the book highly valuable and would strongly recommend it to scholars and readers interested in cultural studies, material culture, Anthropology and questions of identity and transnationalism.

[Arash · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an exceptional book about a truly underrepresented topic. Moallem does a fantastic job of chronicling the Persian carpet from its roots as an essential piece of furniture in the homes of people hundreds of years ago to its rise as a globally recognized luxury item all over the world. Her analysis of the various factors that have impacted the journey of this item is unparalleled and insightful. Her research is careful, deep, meticulous and well-put together and the conclusions she draws from her research therefore has a lot of power and importance. Also, because there are only 5 chapters and even though each chapter packs a lot of information and insight, it's smooth and rewarding to read and not overly esoteric. A truly memorable read.