This essay examines how a set of fourteen carpets was designed and used in the tomb of Shah ʿAbbas II (r. 1642–1666), located within the Fatima al-Maʿsuma (d. 816) shrine complex, Qum. Through close study of the carpets’ various spatial dimensions, this paper argues for an experiential, multimedia approach to analyzing space. The Qum carpets not only constituted site-specific works, carefully designed in dialogue with the tomb, but they also constructed space through references to multiple geographies and temporalities. In concert with the tomb’s ornament and structure, they created a realm of total allusion mediated by the bodies of the living and the deceased. Finally, this essay explores how the carpets came to temporarily occupy a new space in 1931, the major International Exhibition of Persian Art in London, where they highlighted issues that arise when displaying historical carpets within the modern museum.
