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.