17TH CENTURY, SPAIN

Carpet weaving was introduced to Spain during the Moorish occupation and continued throughout the centuries. This example is the product of a commercial industry that appeared from the sixteenth century onwards. The palette consists of a golden yellow, cream, blue and green and the designs were inspired by carpets from Anatolia which were available at that time but at a great cost (King, D. and Sylvester, D., The Eastern Carpet in the Western World, London, 1933, figs. 18-20). The weavers of Cuenca often borrowed their design inspiration from the Turkish 'Lotto' design as seen here.