Turkish Carpets. Antique Ottoman Carpets.
Antique Turkish Carpets before 1700
The practice of weaving carpets may have been brought to Anatolia by the Seljuks, a Turkic people from Central Asia who ruled Anatolia from 1077 to 1307. Eight fragmented 13th-century Seljuk carpets were found in the Aladdin Mosque, Konya, in 1905. Some are enormous (6m/nearly 20ft long), several are decorated with geometric floral designs based on Chinese silk brocades, and all have wide borders of stylized Kufic script. These carpets are now in the Turkish and Islamic Museum in Istanbul. Of extraordinary graphic power and grandeur, they reflect a highly developed and sophisticated awareness of weaving as an art form.
THE OTTOMANS
The Ottomans, also originally Turks from Central Asia, established themselves in Turkey in the late 13th century. They took Constantinople (now Istanbul) in 1453 and ruled until 1922. At the height of its power the Ottoman Empire extended from Egypt to Hungary.
Most surviving court weavings date from the 16th and 17th centuries. Early carpets show the geometric gul medallion) patterns that derive from the Central Asian tradition. The “Memling” gul (named after the 1 5th German painter Hans Memling, who depicted similar carpets in his work) consists of an octagon enclosing a stepped hooked medallion. Other carpets use the “Holbein” pattern (named after Hans Holbein the Younger), typically comprising rows of octagonal medallions framed by arabesques, interspersed with smaller lozenges. The distinctive “Lotto” design (after Lorenzo Lotto) is a development of the Chinese brocade designs of the Seljuk carpets; it features stylized yellow fines, leaves, and palmettes on a red ground.
Cairo, colonized by the Ottomans in 1517, had under the previous Mamluk rule (1250-1517) created carpets with dense, all-over geometric designs, usually in green, crimson, and white with a little yellow. Weavers from Cairo may have initially been responsible for the group of finely woven mid-16th-century rugs and carpets that show the development of the true Ottoman court style and are very different from the earlier geometric designs. Motifs include the cintamani (three balls above a pair of wavy lines), which became one of the most popular devices in Ottoman art (found in tiles, textiles, carpets, and metalwork). Other decoration includes cloudbands and lotus palmettes (from Chinese art), large leaves, and the four favourite Ottoman flowers: carnations, tulips, hyacinths, and roses. Many of these motifs appear stylized in 18th- and 19th-century Turkish village rugs.
A “Star” carpet made in Ushak
The star shape of the main medallion originated in China and is also found in 15th- and 16th-century Persian carpets. The repeat pattern, with its incomplete outer medallions, was intended to suggest infinity. (c.1550-1600; I. 1.8m/5ft 11 in; value Q)
In the late 16th and 17th centuries other designs were developed, including the large “medallion” and “star” carpets of Ushak in western Anatolia. Both these types show an endless repeating design cut by borders. The medallion layout, first used in bindings of the Koran, may have been borrowed from the contemporary Persian carpets of Tabriz (Tabriz artists were employed by the Ottoman court). The ground of the medallion carpets, which is of red vines and palmettes on blue, or vice versa, again recalls Chinese textiles. Other motifs are Persian-influenced, taking the form of sprays of flowers and arabesque scrolls. There are a number of border designs, many used interchangeably on the various carpets, including Kufic, cloudbands, palmettes with flower sprays, and floral cartouches. Turkish carpets were highly prized in the West. Many Tudor (1485-1603) portraits depict their subjects standing proudly on their Turkish carpets. European carpets are knotted with the Turkish, or symmetrical, knot in imitation of these early imports. Most Turkish and many Caucasian rugs of the 18th and 19th centuries have designs developed from the Ottoman production of the 15th-17th centuries.
T “Transylvanian” rug made in Ushak
Large quantities of these Turkish rugs were exported to Europe. In Transylvania many were used to decorate Protestant churches in the 17th and 18th centuries -hence their name. This example features stylized mosque lamps.
Antique Turkish Carpets after 1700
The Ottoman tradition of weaving established between the 15th and 17th centuries formed the inspiration for rug production in Turkey in the 19th century. What emerged was the creation of far more commercial rugs and carpets to appeal to a wider, Western audience — products that were still traditional in approach, but more accessible. This commercialization affected both village rug production and town and city workshop production, with designs evolving or being adapted from the earlier classic traditions.
VILLAGE AND NOMADIC PRODUCTION
Rugs woven in villages throughout Turkey share similar design formats, construction, and traditional influences with their Persian and Caucasian neighbours to the East and North, and with those from Central Asia further
East. Village products incorporate essentially geometric design elements, woven on woollen warps and wefts, and made with the Turkish knot. Inspiration is drawn from earlier classic renditions; the guls (medallions) used are frequently similar to guls seen in Turkoman carpets from Central Asia, while the influence of the early “Holbein” rugs is often evident in the shape of the medallions. Designs that were popular in the 18th and 19th centuries are reproduced today in similar formats and contemporary shades, although as is typical throughout the industry, products made after c.1900 lack the individuality and vibrancy of the earlier pieces.
Very little of the Turkish rug production is actually nomadic; most is cooperative and village-based. The Yuruk and the Kurds are two nomadic peoples who weave on their migrations. Rugs from these two groups share similarities with Caucasian Kazak and Karabagh rugs, with their bold, geometric patterns and strong palette. The pile is usually even deeper than in the Caucasian carpets. One of the major differences between the Caucasian and the Turkish village and nomad rugs is the lack of zoomorphic and human forms in the Turkish pieces: the design elements are almost exclusively floral-based.
TOWN PRODUCTION
Like Persian town production, Turkish town rugs and carpets have formal curvilinear designs, and in some centres are woven from cartoons (scale drawings); most production is on cotton or sometimes silk foundations, although town rugs and carpets in Turkey are also woven on woollen foundations. In western Turkey the town of Ghiordes (the name used to describe the Turkish, or symmetrical, knot) was a main weaving centre from the 17th to the early 20th century. Although on a wool foundation, the pile of Turkish town rugs and carpets is finely woven on red- or pink-dyed warps, and a cotton weft is used. Rugs from Ghiordes are often of prayer-rug form; others recall earlier design traditions. Zigzags, hexagonal medallions, and stylized floral motifs are typical. This type of rug design was popular in the 19th century.
Prayer-rugs are widespread in Turkish rug production. Ladik in central Anatolia is famous for those made in the 18th and early 19th centuries, depicting a plain mihrab (prayer niche) supported by a detailed border, presenting a striking image. These rugs also demonstrate the use of design elements adapted from older rugs. The town of Konya, close to Ladik, is also a centre for the production of prayer-rugs. Alternative prayer-rug formats included the use of a double mihrab — again a feature associated with similar rug production from the classic era. Konya produces bold geometric-design rugs very similar in character and colour to Kazak rugs from the Caucasus. Both Ladik and Konya rugs are highly sought after by collectors, due to their powerful and distinctive images.
MASTERPIECES OF TURKISH WEAVING
The town of Hereke, east of Istanbul, is famous for its extremely fine silk rugs with refined, elegant decoration. The finest silk rugs in the world are made there today. At the same time that Hereke started its production (late 19th century), workshops were established in Kum Kapi, the Armenian quarter of Istanbul. Exceptional, finely woven silk rugs were made there by Turkish Armenians who came from the weaving centres of Kayseri and Sivas; technically advanced in the art of rug-weaving, they produced rugs of a quality that had not been seen since the 17th century. They drew their inspiration from the Ottoman court style and the classic 16th-century Persian rugs of the Safavid period (1501-1732). Many of the products from these workshops are signed by the master weavers, with names that are now legendary: Zareh Penyamian, Hagop Kapoudjian, and the Tossounian family. These exquisite masterpieces are highly regarded and command high prices.
WESTERN INFLUENCE
In the late 19th century Western demand for decorative large-scale carpets increased, affecting both Persia and Turkey. Turkish carpet production during the 1890s responded to the new market, and Ushak in western Anatolia produced large, coarsely woven, decorative carpets for the European and American markets. These were often made to order by stores such as Liberty & Co. (est. 1875) in London, and carpets may still be found bearing their labels. Loosely woven on woollen foundations, many of these carpets were of indifferent quality and unattractive, the design most frequently produced being bright red with all-over bold green-andblue lozenges and palmettos: these are often referred to as “Turkey” carpets. However, some attractive products were made, generally based on Persian models of the same period.
• MAIN AREAS OF PRODUCTION Ghiordes, Ladik, Konya,
Hereke, Kum Kapi (Istanbul)
• WEAVE most town pieces are either cotton or silk on a wool foundation; less fine examples are woven in wool
• DESIGNS many patterns take their inspiration from classic prototypes and Persian models; nomadic and semi-nomadic rugs usually feature geometric designs
• COLOURS these vary enormously from bright, vibrant jewel colours to washed-out pastel shades – the latter especially typical of town production pieces; poor examples feature harsh bright colours; modern nomadic and semi-nomadic pieces are characterized by the use of soft pastel shades
• COLLECTING look out for harmonious colour combinations and well-balanced designs; fine silk rugs from Hereke and Kum Kapi are rare, exquisitely made, and usually extremely valuable; it is advisable to buy rare antique rugs only from reputable dealers – the most beautiful examples would have been made for export purposes so it is not usually advisable to travel to the country of production to find the best pieces