WEST ANATOLIA, 16TH CENTURY

A very small group of small medallion Ushak rugs share all the elements found in the present example. The group are characterised by a greater finesse of weave than most small medallion Ushaks and particularly tight drawing, and it is probable that they were all woven in the same workshop. One is the Aita Collection small medallion Ushak, offered in these Rooms, 18 October 2001, lot 219, another is the de Beaucorps small medallion Ushak rug in the Musee des Tissues, Lyon (inv.no.29.069; Hali 35, July/September 1987, p.38, pl.XXIV) while a third, from an Austrian Collection, was sold in these Rooms 12 October 2000, lot 199. Further related examples, but with hexagonal medallions, can be found in the collections of the Textile Museum Washington D.C. and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. It is interesting to note that a rug of this rare group is depicted in Michiel Janszoon van Miereveld's 1625 portrait Prince Rupert, in the Royal Collection.