A LADIK PRAYER RUG

The prayer rugs woven in the Ladik district of central Anatolia share a small number of designs which ultimately derive from the court production of the previous two centuries. Although their compositions are formulaic, it is the subtle adjustments made to the motifs and the interplay of colour that sets each example apart. The border of our prayer rug is typical of Ladik weaving, yet it exhibits a great deal of variation in its palette and includes a substantial amount of aubergine. It is more usual for the spandrels to be decorated with the serrated leaf and carnation design also common in ‘Transylvanian’ rugs, however, our example exhibits flowerheads which appear to drift across the watery blue background.