Lot Essay
This rug belongs to an extremely rare sub-group of the the well-known and documented group of double-niched small medallion Ushak rugs. While at least seventy of the main group of double-niched rugs are known, there appear to be only two other published examples of the sub-group rugs as seen here. The other two rugs are a piece in the Trk ve Islam Eserleri Museum, inv. no. 11 (see Aslanapa, Oktay: One Thousand Years of Turkish Carpets, Istanbul, 1988, pl.98) and an example in a New York private collection, sold Sotheby's London, 28 April 1992, lot 94. All three of these peices share a remarkably similar design of a large medallion on a relatively small open red field and large spandrels. The medallion and spandrel treatment is also very similar on all three peices. The New York collection example and the Bernheimer piece share an unusual, open red inner guard stripe, while the Istanbul piece has a similar border but with a red and white reciprocal serrated design. The New York rug has two pendant palmettes hanging from the medallion, the Istanbul rug has one pendant palmette and the Bernheimer piece is without pendants. The border design of all three rugs is similar with the Bernheimer rug being the simpliest and most open.
It is generally agreed that the larger, more common group of double-niched small medallion Ushak were woven from the late sixteenth through the seventeenth century. In their auction review of the New York examples sale, the editors of Hali indicated that the rugs of this rare sub-group should be seen as earlier examples of the larger, more common group ("Auction Price Guide," Hali, 63, 1992, p.132). An early date for these pieces is supported by a comparison between the arabesque interlaces seen in the medallion of these pieces and similar motifs found in early sixteenth century Ottoman silver dishes (see Christie's London, 24 April 1990, lot 377 for a silver-gilt and enamel small bowl). The arabesque interlace of the central roundel of this bowl is nearly identical, when you allow for differences of media, to the medallion interlaces of these rugs.
It is generally agreed that the larger, more common group of double-niched small medallion Ushak were woven from the late sixteenth through the seventeenth century. In their auction review of the New York examples sale, the editors of Hali indicated that the rugs of this rare sub-group should be seen as earlier examples of the larger, more common group ("Auction Price Guide," Hali, 63, 1992, p.132). An early date for these pieces is supported by a comparison between the arabesque interlaces seen in the medallion of these pieces and similar motifs found in early sixteenth century Ottoman silver dishes (see Christie's London, 24 April 1990, lot 377 for a silver-gilt and enamel small bowl). The arabesque interlace of the central roundel of this bowl is nearly identical, when you allow for differences of media, to the medallion interlaces of these rugs.