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Lot Essay
The earliest Medallion Ushak carpets can be dated comfortably back into the 15th century, particularly on the basis of comparisons with other media from the Ottoman empire of that period (Carlo Maria Suriano, 'Oak leaves and Arabesques', Hali 116, May-June 2001, pp.106-115). In his article Suriano discusses a number of early examples of the group, many of which share border features with each other, and also an elegance of drawing of the main field, which make it clear why the design was so popular. One such example is the magnificent Lefèvre large Medallion Ushak, now in the al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait, (Friedrich Sphuler, Carpets from Islamic Lands, London, 2012, pp.51-55), which has very similar proportions and complete double medallion composition to the present lot.
Unlike early Persian carpet designs where the field is centred around a medallion and enclosed by four quarter medallions, an idea that can be directly tied with early Persian book covers, the designs of Ushak Medallion carpets form an endless repeat pattern of alternating rows of offset medallions (Kurt Erdmann, The History of the Early Turkish Carpet, London, 1977, pp.36-39). The common design principal has delicate floral tracery enclosing a large primary medallion flanked by lobed medallions all filled with split-leaf rumi and angular floral vinery. More commonly woven with a red field and indigo medallions the present carpet, like the al-Sabah example, and two further examples in the Thyssen Bornemisza collection, have an inverted colour scheme, (Friedrich Sphuler, Carpets and Textiles, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, nos.6 & 8, pp.44-5 and 50-1). The border design of lotus palmettes and flora on a red ground is shared with both of the Thyssen carpets that are dated to the early 16th century, (Sphuler, ibid, nos.6 & 8), however our carpet has a wider variety of colour than those, including a brighter green and greater amount of ivory which enhances the overall appearance of the border.
The earliest and best examples of these carpets were woven for the wealthy Ottoman home market although they already appeared in European paintings during the 16th century with examples being depicted by artists such as Velasquez, Zurbaran and Vermeer (Donald King and David Sylvester, The Eastern Carpet in the Western World from the 15th to the 17th Century, London, 1983, p.73). By the 17th century there is evidence of a substantial export market in Europe, both from textual sources and from the number which have survived in large European country houses.
Unlike early Persian carpet designs where the field is centred around a medallion and enclosed by four quarter medallions, an idea that can be directly tied with early Persian book covers, the designs of Ushak Medallion carpets form an endless repeat pattern of alternating rows of offset medallions (Kurt Erdmann, The History of the Early Turkish Carpet, London, 1977, pp.36-39). The common design principal has delicate floral tracery enclosing a large primary medallion flanked by lobed medallions all filled with split-leaf rumi and angular floral vinery. More commonly woven with a red field and indigo medallions the present carpet, like the al-Sabah example, and two further examples in the Thyssen Bornemisza collection, have an inverted colour scheme, (Friedrich Sphuler, Carpets and Textiles, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, nos.6 & 8, pp.44-5 and 50-1). The border design of lotus palmettes and flora on a red ground is shared with both of the Thyssen carpets that are dated to the early 16th century, (Sphuler, ibid, nos.6 & 8), however our carpet has a wider variety of colour than those, including a brighter green and greater amount of ivory which enhances the overall appearance of the border.
The earliest and best examples of these carpets were woven for the wealthy Ottoman home market although they already appeared in European paintings during the 16th century with examples being depicted by artists such as Velasquez, Zurbaran and Vermeer (Donald King and David Sylvester, The Eastern Carpet in the Western World from the 15th to the 17th Century, London, 1983, p.73). By the 17th century there is evidence of a substantial export market in Europe, both from textual sources and from the number which have survived in large European country houses.