458-year-old rug returned to Iran

458-year-old rug returned to Iran

TEHRAN (AP): A 16th-century Persian rug valued at more than
US$4 million was returned to Iran three years after it was
smuggled out of the country, the Tehran Times reported yesterday.

Iranian authorities began a campaign two years ago to retrieve
the so-called Ardabil Rug, one of the most famous Persian carpets
in the world, woven in 1539.

It was smuggled out of the country by a 35-member gang, the
English-language Tehran Times reported. It did not say where the
carpet ended up or where and how it was retrieved.

The rug is the largest of three dating back to the same era.
Of the other two, one was stored in the Victoria and Albert
Museum in London and the other is believed to be in the United
States, the paper said.

The Ardabil Rug will be put on display in the Iran Carpets
Museum in the capital, Tehran.