.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Ushak was a leading centre for carpet production in the 16th and 17th century where not only large carpets were manufactured such as lot 229 in this sale but all sizes. Designs included either stars or medallion(s) as well as prayer rugs of smaller size. The earliest example of a small medallion or "double-niche" Ushak rug appears in a painting by Gicolamo da Santacroce, The calling of Saint Matthew, dating from 1517 (J. Mills, "The Coming of the Carpet to the West", in: The Eastern Carpet in the Western World, exhibition catalogue, London, 1983, p.16).
The term "double-niche" refers to the looped arch at each end of the field; most of the rugs have an additional small central medallion. Both the symmetrical appearance of the field as well as the medallion in these rugs have led to questions about their intended function. The field of our rug is asymmetrically designed as if it was clearly meant to be used as a prayer rug. A comparable example with a yellow medallion is in the Collection of the Museum of Art, Rhode Island (Through the Collector's Eye. Oriental rugs from New England Private Collections, exhibition catalogue, Rhode Island School of Design, 1991, pp.28-29, pl.I). Although only half of that rug is preserved, it shows the thin line outlining the mihrab along the cloudbands on one end, as is found in our rug. A nice little feature here is the fact that this line has the same colour as the cloudbands in the spandrels which are monochrome blue with minimal white highlights. Examples with a similar border but not as consistent in the direction of the design and/or with less well executed corner solutions are illustrated by M. S. Dimand and Jean Mailey, Oriental Rugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1973, p.224, pl.81); by Walter B. Denny, The Classical Tradition in Anatolian Carpets, exhibition catalogue, New York, 2002, p.83, pl.22, and by Alberto Boralevi, L'Ushak Castellani-Stroganoff ed altri tappeti Ottomani dal XVI al XVIII secolo, Florence, 1987, pp.30-31, pl.9).
The term "double-niche" refers to the looped arch at each end of the field; most of the rugs have an additional small central medallion. Both the symmetrical appearance of the field as well as the medallion in these rugs have led to questions about their intended function. The field of our rug is asymmetrically designed as if it was clearly meant to be used as a prayer rug. A comparable example with a yellow medallion is in the Collection of the Museum of Art, Rhode Island (Through the Collector's Eye. Oriental rugs from New England Private Collections, exhibition catalogue, Rhode Island School of Design, 1991, pp.28-29, pl.I). Although only half of that rug is preserved, it shows the thin line outlining the mihrab along the cloudbands on one end, as is found in our rug. A nice little feature here is the fact that this line has the same colour as the cloudbands in the spandrels which are monochrome blue with minimal white highlights. Examples with a similar border but not as consistent in the direction of the design and/or with less well executed corner solutions are illustrated by M. S. Dimand and Jean Mailey, Oriental Rugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1973, p.224, pl.81); by Walter B. Denny, The Classical Tradition in Anatolian Carpets, exhibition catalogue, New York, 2002, p.83, pl.22, and by Alberto Boralevi, L'Ushak Castellani-Stroganoff ed altri tappeti Ottomani dal XVI al XVIII secolo, Florence, 1987, pp.30-31, pl.9).