Lot Essay
This unusual village rug retains a number of very early motifs, notably the anthropomorphic figures in the smaller panels along the vertical axis. The design of two stepped medallions must share the same early prototype as the Bergama rug offered as lot 88 in this sale. A rug which shares the same drawing and border construction, together with a field design of two medallions albeit of very different form, was exhibited in Munich (Volkmann, M.: Alt Orientalische Teppiche: Meisterstcke deutscher Privatsammlungen, Munich, 1985, pp.62-3).
The border design derives from that found on a small group of fifteenth century carpets, including three related rugs with four-lobed medallion designs (Balpinar, B., and Hirsch, U.: Carpets: Vakiflar Museum Istanbul, Wesel, 1988, nos.37 and 38, pp.250-3; Rippon Boswell & Co., Wiesbaden, 11 May 1991, lot 60).
The border design derives from that found on a small group of fifteenth century carpets, including three related rugs with four-lobed medallion designs (Balpinar, B., and Hirsch, U.: Carpets: Vakiflar Museum Istanbul, Wesel, 1988, nos.37 and 38, pp.250-3; Rippon Boswell & Co., Wiesbaden, 11 May 1991, lot 60).