A French jeweller assessed Safavid Persia as industrially ahead of Europe

Evidence

The French jeweller Jean Chardin (1643-1713) conducted a careful survey of Safavid Persia’s various crafts and industries, at the end of which he concluded that in a majority, though by no means all, Persia was more advanced than Western Europe. — Robert Irwin, For Lust of Knowing, 129

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to craft-and-method themes in ‘Grafting & Growth’ — early Europeans tracking foreign material production and manufacturing superiority.