Antique Istanbul Prayer Rug, Silk And Wool, 122 Cm X 173 Cm, Ottoman Empire, 19th Century

Old Istanbul prayer rug, from Istanbul, Ottoman Empire, Turkey, from the 19th century and measuring 122 cm wide by 173 cm long in wool and silk on cotton.
The mihrab with a sober wavy arch, as a decorative element such as the palmette and the rosette are common to all Ottoman decorative arts.
The use of a limited range of colors such as red, golden yellow, cream-brown and beige is, and remains, one of the typical traits of the Ottoman court style known as "saz".
## It is believed today that the colors of the mihrab represented the colors of the four sects of the Sufis: red for the Ahmadis, blue for the Rafaïs, white for the Dervishes, and finally green, the color of our model for the Ibrahimis.
They are the rarest of this production which began in the middle of the 16th century in the factories of Istanbul.
The rugs considered rare from this production have a mihrab in a plain color (green for our piece) whose decorative function is entrusted to the arc of the niche in a wavy and complex shape and to its entourage, boards, spandrels, and, in particular the main border which hosts on a creamy brown background, the volutes of the palmettes, rosettes and leaves.
In the center of the niche two slender columns in red and yellow gold, shaped like an arabesque, run along what may be reminiscent of a medallion, which occupies the sides and bottom of the niche.
The lamp, graceful and elegant, descends without ostentatious color from the middle of the top of the niche.
The four braids are composed of stylized geranium flowers which alternate red and brown-cream on a golden yellow background of the most beautiful effect.
This magnificent and exceptional prayer rug is very bright and is in used condition and shows wear due to the passage of time and the delicacy and finesse of the materials used.
The photo number 3 taken from a reference book shows two Ghiordes having many similarities with our model.
Dimensions: width: 122 cm (48") x length: 173 cm (68")
This rug has been professionally and environmentally cleaned.
FREE SHIPPING FOR FRANCE €0 / EUROPE €25 / WORLD €50
For all information requests, do not hesitate to contact me on 06 13 36 09 30 or on winsteinprovence@gmail.com
www.winsteinprovence.com
Texts, photos Winstein, all rights reserved