A COUPLED-COLUMN PRAYER RUG

WEST ANATOLIA, 18TH CENTURY

Details

A COUPLED-COLUMN PRAYER RUG
WEST ANATOLIA, 18TH CENTURY
The shaded brick-red field with two paired columns supporting a shaded light blue triple arched mihrab panel at each end containing angular leaf and floral motifs, a blue floral cross panel below, in a sandy yellow border of polychrome cartouches containing floral motifs between dark brown hooked vine and minor S-motif stripes, red field mostly restored, other crude repairs, loss of outer guard stripes, some areas of repiling
6ft.5in. x 3ft.11in. (196cm. x 119cm.)
Warp: wool, ivory, Z2S; lower end red, some pink throughout
Weft: Z2, 2 shoots, white common; some lazy lines
Pile: symmetric, slight depression, Z2S for red, H36 x V27

Lot Essay

This rug derives from the 'Transylvanian' coupled column prayer rugs from western Anatolia and ultimately from the Metropolitan Cairene and Bursa examples as discussed in the note to lot 202 in the Alexander collection. A comparison between the present rug and lot 226 of the same collection shows how the design evolved in two different but closely related weaving centres. The present rug relates to a rug in the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest (Batari, F.: Ottoman Turkish Carpets, Budapest, 1994, no.77, p.63, ill.p.166).

The feature seen here of dying the ends of the warps pink is here unusually only found at one end. It is a feature which is found on various Ushak rugs (The Bernheimer Family Collection of Carpets, Christie's, London, 14 February 1996, lot 87, for example).

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