Lot Essay
The Orient Stars collection included a fragmentary long rug upon which were two whole cruciform medallions, and a lower part- medallion, similar in shape to those on the present lot, including triangular motifs with hooked pendants in the corners as on the present lot. The hooked 'Z' border design was also a close match (Heinrich Kirchheim et al., Orient Stars: a Carpet Collection, Stuttgart, 1993, p.214, no.139). A full length example is in the collection of Cengiz Kara, though the slightly heavier drawing on that example suggests a later date to ours (Hulya Tezcan and Sumiko Okumura, The Weaving Heritage of Anatolia, Part 1, Istanbul, 2007, p.111, no.12). An unusual variation on this theme can be seen on a rug in an Austrian private collection, which has an arrangement of five cruciform medallions, arranged in pairs at the upper and lower end (Antique Anatolian Carpets from Austrian Collections, Vienna, 1983, p.130, no.40). A runner very similar in design to our example sold in these Rooms, 8 April 2014, lot 7.