CENTRAL SPAIN, MID 16TH CENTURY

A number of Alcaraz 'wreath' carpets have survived, all of which are variations on the same theme as seen here. Often the main effect is bitonal, with a few details picked out in related or contrasting colours. There appear never to have been more than two wreaths across the width of a carpet, although there are often a great number along the length. A complete carpet with the same colours and motifs of very similar execution to those found here is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (M.S. Dimand and J. Mailey, Oriental Rugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1973, no.156, p.263 and fig.225). The drawing on the present fragment is good, with an interesting feature in the secondary motif; two linked roundels elongated at one end which probably derive from pomegranates, a symbol of opulence throughout the Islamic World and one favoured by the Nasrids in 15th century Granada.