SPAIN, SECOND HALF 16TH CENTURY

The bitonal palette of this carpet is found on two Alcaraz carpets with Lotto field design, one sold in these Rooms 14 October 1999, lot 100, the other in our New York Rooms, 9 June 2009, lot 21. In the present example however the source of the design is much more European, harking back to silk designs. A similar bitonal lattice design enclosing quadripartite flowers serves as the background for an Alcaraz rug with funerary association, in the Textile Museum, Washington (Ernst Kühnel, Catalogue of Spanish Rugs, 12th to 19th century, Washington D.C., 1953, pls.XXXVI and XXXVII).