Lot Essay
The weaving centres in Turkey at the end of the last century and the start of the 20th century both at Kum Kapi in Istanbul and Hereke produced some of the finest rugs and carpets ever woven. They were made from designs inspired from Ottoman and Safavid Persian carpets. There were a number of different master weavers known to have produced carpets at these centres during the relatively short period that they existed. For a survey on this subject see Bensoussan,P.:'The Masterweavers of Istanbul, Hali 26, 1985, pp.34-41.
The two best known weavers from this group Hagop Kapoudjion and Zareh Penyamin tended to sign their work. For a detailed account of their signatures see Farrow, G.F.: Hagop Kapoudjian, The First and Greatest Master of the Kum Kapi School, London 1993, pp.79-81. This example appears to have been produced by a weaver who signed this work in the border central floral motif with a minute scissor motif. This signature may be a previously un-published signature for one of the other known master weavers.
The two best known weavers from this group Hagop Kapoudjion and Zareh Penyamin tended to sign their work. For a detailed account of their signatures see Farrow, G.F.: Hagop Kapoudjian, The First and Greatest Master of the Kum Kapi School, London 1993, pp.79-81. This example appears to have been produced by a weaver who signed this work in the border central floral motif with a minute scissor motif. This signature may be a previously un-published signature for one of the other known master weavers.