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Lot Essay
Pile carpet weaving was introduced to Spain during the Moorish occupation and continued as a flourishing industry after the establishment of Christian rule. The lot offered here is a product of a commercial industry which existed in Alcaraz in the 16th century. The design inspiration was often, as here, provided by carpets from Anatolia which were available in Europe at that time but were extremely costly (D. King and D. Sylvester, The Eastern Carpet in the Western World, London, 1933, figs. 18-20).
The most popular design was borrowed from the Turkish 'large pattern Holbein' carpets. (L. Mackie, 'Native and Foreign Influences in Carpets Woven in Spain During the 15th Century', HALI Vol II No 2, Summer 1979, pp.88-95). While there are a number of Alcaraz carpets with 'large pattern Holbein' design fields, there seem to be very few that employ the 'Lotto' design , a variant of which is seen here. It is a design however which is very frequently employed at the later Spanish manufactory of Cuenca, as well as in other European weaving centres. In the present carpet the border and finesse show it was made in Alcaraz. A border on an Alcaraz carpet in the Textile Museum described by Kühnel and Bellinger as "curved festoons ending in a head, between candelabra stems richly flowered" has the same composition as the lot offered here (Ernst Kühnel, L. Bellinger, Catalogue of Spanish Rugs 12th Century to the 19th Century, Washington, D.C., 1953, p.37).
Incorporated in the various designs produced by the workshops in Alcaraz, were other sources of inspiration which included Western themes. These were often based on patterns from Renaissance Italy with large scale pomegranate patterns originally found on silk brocades and velvets, applied in a ton-sur-ton method, using two shades of the same colour (J. Torres-Terrandis, Exposicion de Alfombras Antiguas Espagnolas, Madrid, 1933). The borrowing of designs from other cultures continues in the same fashion today with Egyptian and Turkish manufacturers copying and altering those Ziegler and Turkish designs, themselves derivative from earlier carpets, in order to satisfy the decorative markets abroad. The colours in the Alcaraz carpets tend to be more muted than the original Turkish rugs, with a reduced number of colours within their palette.
The bi-tonal 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 Christie's New York, 9 June 2009, lot 21. A smaller fragment, displaying a European damask inspired design, formerly in the Wher Collection, Switzerland, sold in Sotheby's London, 6 November 2018, lot 30. A similar bi-tonal 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).
The most popular design was borrowed from the Turkish 'large pattern Holbein' carpets. (L. Mackie, 'Native and Foreign Influences in Carpets Woven in Spain During the 15th Century', HALI Vol II No 2, Summer 1979, pp.88-95). While there are a number of Alcaraz carpets with 'large pattern Holbein' design fields, there seem to be very few that employ the 'Lotto' design , a variant of which is seen here. It is a design however which is very frequently employed at the later Spanish manufactory of Cuenca, as well as in other European weaving centres. In the present carpet the border and finesse show it was made in Alcaraz. A border on an Alcaraz carpet in the Textile Museum described by Kühnel and Bellinger as "curved festoons ending in a head, between candelabra stems richly flowered" has the same composition as the lot offered here (Ernst Kühnel, L. Bellinger, Catalogue of Spanish Rugs 12th Century to the 19th Century, Washington, D.C., 1953, p.37).
Incorporated in the various designs produced by the workshops in Alcaraz, were other sources of inspiration which included Western themes. These were often based on patterns from Renaissance Italy with large scale pomegranate patterns originally found on silk brocades and velvets, applied in a ton-sur-ton method, using two shades of the same colour (J. Torres-Terrandis, Exposicion de Alfombras Antiguas Espagnolas, Madrid, 1933). The borrowing of designs from other cultures continues in the same fashion today with Egyptian and Turkish manufacturers copying and altering those Ziegler and Turkish designs, themselves derivative from earlier carpets, in order to satisfy the decorative markets abroad. The colours in the Alcaraz carpets tend to be more muted than the original Turkish rugs, with a reduced number of colours within their palette.
The bi-tonal 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 Christie's New York, 9 June 2009, lot 21. A smaller fragment, displaying a European damask inspired design, formerly in the Wher Collection, Switzerland, sold in Sotheby's London, 6 November 2018, lot 30. A similar bi-tonal 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).