For a brief discussion of the "Lotto" group of rugs, please see lot 90 of this catalogue. The field design of the present rug is of the kilim-style as classified by Charles Grant Ellis (Ellis, C. G.: "The 'Lotto' Pattern as a Fashion in Carpets," Festschrift fr Peter Wilhelm Meister, 1975, pp.19-31). The cartouche border of design can be found on many other examples from the "Lotto" group. The unusual walnut brown ground color of the border seen here, as well as the lack of guard striping between the field and border, can also be seen on a rug in the Philadelphia Museum of Art from the John G. Johnson Collection (see Ellis: Oriental Carpets in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, 1988, no.12) and a rug formerly in the colleciton of Joseph McMullen, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (McMullen, Joseph: Islamic Carpets, New York, 1965, no. 73). Ellis suggests that the similarities between these three pieces, indicate that they were woven in the same workshop. Ellis believes, based on technical similarities of the side finish of the Bernheimer piece and the "Transylvanian" group of rugs, that this workshop was located in Eastern Europe (Ellis: op. cit., pp.38-39). It should be noted, however, that Ellis' suggestions of a European origin for many types of rugs is not readily agreed upon by others.