WEST ANATOLIA, SECOND HALF 17TH CENTURY

The name of this group derives from the nearly two hundred surviving examples preserved today in churches within Transylvania in present day Romania. Following a 1483 peace treaty between Mehmed II and Matthias Corvinus of Hungary (r. 1458-90), Hungarian and Transylvanian merchants were able to travel throughout the Ottoman empire and trade in the rugs which, once brought home, were often endowed to churches where they have been preserved ever since (Stefano Ionescu, Antique Ottoman Rugs in Transylvania, Rome, 2005, p.28). Markers added to the rugs and old inventories allow us to build a clear picture of the chronology and development of this rug design: the earliest dated inscription comes from 1661 (Stefano Ionescu, op cit., p.61). Further insight into their history is also provided by artists like Cornelis de Vos, whose 1620 portrait of the Antwerp burgher Abraham Grapheus features one draped over a table: this suggests that they were traded in Europe even in the early seventeenth century.

Despite this wealth of documentary evidence, the origins of the ‘double-niche’ design remains obscure. The most colourful explanation refers to a 1610 firman issued by Ahmed I (r.1603-17) which forbade the depiction of a mihrab on objects which were widely traded with non-Muslims: by reflecting the design along the horizontal axis, the theory goes, the design became far enough removed from a prayer rug to allow it to be traded beyond the frontiers of the caliphate. The design of this group can also be understood as an evolution of existing forms. Red open fields were characteristic of small medallion Ushak rugs, as well as velvet pillow covers (yastiks) woven for the Ottoman court (Alberto Boralevi, Geometrie d’ Oriente: Stefano Bardini e il tappeto antico, Livorno, 1999, no.18, p.66).

An example with a near-identical arrangement of motifs in the field and border is published by Stefano Ionescu (op.cit., p.114, cat.75). An example was sold in these Rooms, 27 April 2023, lot 200, while a late example with atypical colouring also sold 4 October 2011, lot 226.