SIGNED HEREKE, WEST TURKEY, DATED AH 1310 / 1891-2 AD

The knot count measures approximately 9V x 9H knots per cm. sq.

The signature on this carpet is quite different from the square kufic mark which appears on some Hereke rugs, such as the following two lots in this sale. Instead, the curvilinear script, 'v' shaped motifs at either end of the cartouche, and even the date, match those on a prayer rug sold in these Rooms, 27 October 2022, lot 240. Like ours, that rug had a very fine structure and was woven on bicolour silk warps. More research remains to be done on the relationship between these two and rugs signed with the more common square kufic Hereke signature, and whether both were the products of the imperial workshop established there in the mid 19th century.

In the collection of the Directorate of National Palaces, Turkey, there is an extremely similar rug with a boteh border and striped field with a similar overall colouring (acc.no42/1300, Dolmabaçhe Palace). There is also a photograph showing three young weavers at work on a very similar striped rug at the Hereke workshop in the late 19th century (acc.no.90453-39, Yildiz Palace Library Photography). With the rug only partly completed, the striped warps are clearly visible on the loom. Both were published in the catalogue of the recent exhibition Woven Treasures: Carpets and Fabrics from the Ottoman Palace, Dolmabaçhe Palace, Istanbul, 7 June - 7 July 2024, cat.no.14.