The Carpet Museum of Iran, located in Laleh Park in Tehran, has an extensive collection of rare and unusual carpets, including some that were transferred from the Saadabad palaces following the overthrow of the Shah of Iran in 1979.

The 19th-century Isfahan cotton and wool carpet above has a rare zodiac design with animal symbols for the years in the inner circle and for the months in the outer. The year symbols bear some similarity to Chinese zodiac signs, but these are from the ancient Nazarene culture.

The woman represents the sun, while the lower star-shaped motif symbolises the moon. The four corner portraits in human form represent the planets Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Mercury.

This early 20th-century Kerman carpet is named “The Nation”. On the branches of the tree are apples, pears, pomegranates and grapes, as well as birds including a parrot, swallow, owl, peacock, ostrich, turkey, duck and goose.

The river at the foot of the tree contains fishes, while the border portrays the animal kingdom and even insects such as a beetle and scorpion.

The circles in the main border represent the 10 nations or races in the world, namely Roman, Indian, Chinese, Arab, Australian, Turk, American, Black, Iranian and European.

In this late-19th-century Kerman pictorial carpet, Bacchus/Dionysus (the God of Wine) is playing music for an immodestly dressed dancing woman surrounded by angels – an image that would probably be frowned upon in modern-day Iran.

The border features portraits of a western woman alternating with an Armenian Qajar-period woman.

This Kerman rug from 1904 portrays King Hushang, the founder of the Pishdadi Dynasty. He is depicted on a throne studded with gems carried on the shoulders of demons.

One of the more intricate designs is this 19th-century Isfahan landscaped prayer carpet known as the “Gate of Heaven”. The weaver has created his vision of paradise with delicious fruits such as grapes, pomegranates, apples and figs, together with birds and flowers, a flowing river and turquoise-blue sky.

This Kermani carpet from 1919 is called “Sultans and Celebrities” and portrays 54 prophets, sultans and famous figures. Each character is marked with a number and is named in the border of the carpet.

The inscription on the Roman portico translates to: “The pictures of the celebrities of the world who have done great things, year 1337 AH” (1919).

This carpet is not part of the museum’s collection. It was made for the Imperial Bank of Persia, patterned after a 100 toman note payable at the Tabriz office.

It appears to be signed so it could be considered legal tender and cashable, but since 100 toman is the equivalent of 3 US cents, it is probably better to hang on to the carpet.

This article first appeared on The Thrifty Traveller.