Turkish Carpet

Turkish Carpet
General information
Name	Turkish Carpet
Original name	فرش ترکیه، قالی ترکیه
Alternative name(s)	Turkish Rug
Origin	Turkey
Technical information

Turkish carpet or Turkish Rug is one of the eastern rugs that woven in Turkey.
Modern Turkey includes Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) and the adjacent European area on the west side of the Sea of Marmara, and the large Asiatic territory of Anatolia on the east side of the Sea of Marmara. The earliest Turkish rugs and fragments are from the Seljuk period in the thirteenth century. Designs in some of these rugs suggest Turkmen origins or influences.
The Ottoman empire gradually absorbed the mini-states that emerged in Anatolia after the decline of the Seljuks. The earliest Anatolian rugs, through the eighteenth century, tend to have z-spun, red wefts. Most surviving Ottoman rugs woven prior to 1800 were products of workshops in Bergama, Gördes, Lâdik, Ushak, and other locations in Anatolia. There are some early village and nomadic rugs, but their dating and attribution are problematic.
Most nineteenth and twentieth-century Turkish rugs are coarsely woven with a knot density below 50 knots per square inch. With few exceptions, the symmetric knot is used. Most rugs are woven on a wool foundation with a cotton foundation increasingly used from the turn of the century. Wefts are usually unplied, with two shoots between each row of knots. Some silk rugs have been woven in Turkey. Designs tend to be prayer rugs and medallions rather than all-over patterns.
There was a marked decline in rug production from the founding of the modern Turkish republic in 1923 until the 1950s. On December 1, 1928, Turkey officially adopted the Latin alphabet. Newspapers and other publications were required to be printed in western script rather than Arabic script. This change in written usage was soon reflected in Turkish rug inscriptions. The vast majority of Turkish flatweaves are Anatolian. Structures used for these flatweaves include kilim, cicim, zili, and soumak.

History

Turkey, also referred to by the historical and geographical name of Anatolia, is located in Asia Minor, bordered by the Black Sea in the north, the Caucasus Mountains in the northeast, Iran (Persia) to the east, Iraq and Syria in the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea in the southwest, and Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest.
Turkey has been one of the most prominent Oriental carpet producers in the world. The weavers of Turkey were highly talented and creative with influential designs and techniques. Turkey is credited with the development and advancement of folk art weavings over the centuries.
The Seljuk tribes, who originated from Turkestan, moved west, conquering Asia Minor and settling in Anatolia. In 1055 CE, the Seljuks converted to Islam and the Mohammedan religion was introduced to the region. The city of Konya in Central Anatolia became an Islamic art and culture destination with magnificent mosques and other structures.
Many factors played a role in making the vast assortment of beautiful rugs of Turkey. The Seljuk Turk tribes wove the oldest examples of Anatolian pile carpets during the thirteenth century. The designs had geometric, primitive motifs in an allover, repetitive style that included a Kufic border woven similar to Islamic calligraphy. Some of these rugs were discovered in 1905 by Swedish scholar and author Fredrik R. Martin (1868-1933) at the Alaeddin Mosque in Konya. The rugs are preserved today at the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum in Istanbul and the Mevlana Museum in Konya.
In 1288 CE, the young warrior and son of Ertoghrul Ghazi, Osman I, became Emir of his principality in the northern region of Anatolia. Osman I (r. 1299-1326) superseded the last Seljuks and fought the regions controlled by the Byzantine Empire east of Constantinople. He established the Osmani, known as the Ottoman Empire, which would eventually dominate the Middle East for six centuries.
In 1453, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II (r. 1451-1481) conquered Constantinople and brought an end to the Byzantine Empire. The city was renamed Istanbul and became the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The sultan converted the city to Islamic rule and modified many of the churches into mosques. Mehmed II continued his march of armies and took over the Balkan region in Europe.
There are several groups of Anatolian carpets made during the early fifteenth and sixteenth centuries that appear in contemporary paintings. Tribes in the Konya and Ushak areas likely made these weavings. The rugs were made for high officials of the Ottoman Empire and for export to the West. They were actively traded by Venetian merchants and sent to Europe for exclusive use in royal palaces and by the nobility.
The oldest group, called Holbein Rugs, were made during the fifteenth century and named after the German artist Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543), who repeatedly incorporated rugs in his artworks. Holbein designs had influences of tribal Turkmen Gul (flower) motifs from Turkestan, octagon-shaped motifs in the field with Kufic borders. A famous 1538 painting by Holbein of Henry VIII features the king of England standing on an Anatolian rug, which led to this type of rug being named after the painter.
A second group, called Lotto Rugs, were woven beginning in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth centuries and were named after the Venetian painter Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556), who included rugs in several of his paintings. The Anatolian Lotto rug usually has a geometric palmette and Arabesques (eslim) in the background, with a Kufic border.
The third group, called "Star" Ushak carpets, appeared in early sixteenth-century paintings, especially those by the Venetian artist Paris Bordone (1500-1571). These carpets feature large geometric Star motifs repeated in the background.
Examples woven with Dragon, animal, and bird motifs as the main design element were made during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. They are in the geometric style, and have an octagon or an all over, repetitive design. A rug with a dragon motif in an octagon design is preserved in the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin, and an animal rug is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Keeping with the tradition of allover styles, a rare allover bird motif on a red background is preserved in the Mevlana Museum in Konya.
In 1514 Sultan Selim I the Grim (r. 1512-1520) conquered northwestern Persia, including the capital city of Tabriz, during the Safavid reign of Shah Ismail. Sultan Selim took advantage of the Persian Empire's art and culture, bringing thousands of skilled rug weavers, artists, architects, painters, and ceramists to western Anatolia. The sultan established in the Ottoman royal court an art school in the Istanbul area that included looms for making carpets and textiles by Persian weavers.
By 1517 Sultan Selim had moved his armies south to occupy Kurdistan, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt (Mamluk Empire). The sultan repeated his pillaging of art and culture throughout the region, especially in Egypt, by transferring rug weavers, metalworkers, and ceramists to Anatolia. The sultan's desire was to advance Ottoman civilization through the arts and culture by incorporating artisans from Persia, Syria, and Egypt. Egypt became a province of the Ottoman Empire. The proprietors of Mamluk looms continued to weave carpets and sent them to Anatolia for the Ottoman Empire's use and for foreign export.
In 1534 the Ottomans again seized the Persian city of Tabriz. Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent (r. 1520-1566) ordered this reoccupation, the second time in twenty years that the city was controlled by an Ottoman ruler. During this period, the Safavid ruler Shah Tahmasp (r. 1524-1576) was overseeing the greatest and finest carpet manufacturing in the world. Sultan Suleyman, once again, took talented master weavers from Persia to Anatolia. The influx of Persian weavers helped produce outstanding Safavid-influenced carpets in western Anatolia, successfully perfecting the transfer of the Persian art form to the Ottoman royal-court manufacturing base. Some Safavid Carpets designs incorporated were the medallion with stylized palmette motifs, which were woven in a finer grade by Ottoman artisans than under the original Persian court.
In the sixteenth century, Persian and Egyptian designs were developed in the western region of the Ottoman Empire. During this period, floral, Tree of Life, and animal motifs were woven along with medallions and allover designs.
The sixteenth century is known as the golden age of Oriental carpet production. During this period, the empires making the finest court carpets were the Safavid, Ottoman, Mamluk, and Mughal during the reign of Akbar the Great (r. 1556-1605). The carpets were woven for palaces and the nobility throughout the world. Today these carpets are highly coveted and are preserved in respected museums worldwide.
During the sixteenth century, the Persian medallion influenced weavers of the Ushak region. This design became very popular for large-size carpets made for the Ottoman court and palaces in Europe. In addition, Ushak weavers created rugs with small medallions with Mihrab (prayer arch) designs on a red background, called "Small Medallion Ushak" in the trade. This design normally has an Open Field and, at times, features a mosque lamp hanging from the apex of the mihrab on one or both ends of the field.
In Anatolia, the Islamic religion became part of a daily life for the people and influenced the woven art of the Ottoman Empire. During the late sixteenth century, Prayer Rugs were made throughout villages and towns as part of the religious dedication to Islam, which was encouraged by Sultan Suleyman. This design was also woven with the highest quality by his royal court.
Prayer rug designs are generally geometric, and have a single-direction mihrab or arch pattern. A variety of tribal design elements and animal motifs were commonly woven in the spandrels during the seventeenth century. Prayer rugs might also have a mosque lamp or chandelier suspended from the arch center. At times, weavers would include two or four columns in the field symbolically supporting the arch. The most famous regions for weaving prayer rugs were Bergama, Ghiordes, Konya, Kula, Ladik, Melas, Panderma, and Ushak. Each weaving area had its own coloration and design style. Churches throughout the Balkan region of Europe, especially those in Transylvania, acquired these rugs to decorate church walls and floors.
In the eighteenth century, animal motifs were prohibited for religious reasons in prayer rug designs. Instead, geometric flowers, Shrub motifs, and other designs were placed above the mihrab. In addition, some weavers added rectangular panels adjacent to the upper and lower borders in the field. These sections usually had flowers and arabesques.
Large communal prayer weavings, known as Saf Rugs, were made with multiple prayer designs in a horizontal row. In the seventeenth century, saf rugs were woven with a pile or flatweave in many Anatolian villages.
Over the centuries, flatwoven Kilim rugs were a virtually universal rural and tribal product in Anatolia. They were originally made for household use but today are made mainly for external sale. Early woven kilims from Anatolia are famous in the antique trade and are sought after by museums and collectors worldwide.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Ushak region developed two important geometric designs, known as the bird and tulip motifs. They were woven in an allover pattern, sometimes with identical motifs in the field and border. The light and soft background coloration was fashionable during this period. The Ushak combination of design and colors was commercially successful for foreign export. The region would continue to develop some of the most decorative carpets in Anatolia for the Europe market.
During the nineteenth century, the West began to recognize carpets from the Orient as an art form. Given the strong market and the jobs it created for its weavers, carpet production became one of the most important industries for the Ottoman Empire. Many villages, towns, and manufacturers created new carpet designs and tonalities for increased marketability. Villages known for weaving prayer rugs now included allover designs and other motifs in their offerings for this competitive market.
In the nineteenth century, Anatolian cities such as Kayseri, Sivas, Smyrna, and Sparta began to weave Persian floral designs. The carpets were made on a cotton foundation with the Persian (asymmetric) knot. European merchants at times commissioned these carpets in a variety of designs and sizes.
By the mid-nineteenth century, the northwestern region of Anatolia began manufacturing the finest rugs and carpets in Bursa, Hereke, and Kum Kapi. The most fascinating and prolific weavers worked in the village of Hereke under the supervision of the Ottoman court. Hereke carpets with a wool pile were made mostly with Persian floral designs with European influences. For example, Adam designs or French Flower Bouquet motifs were woven with the Persian Shah Abbas style. French Aubusson Carpets and Savonnerie Carpets styles were also made in Hereke. These carpets were manufactured in all sizes, including palace sizes, mainly for the royal court and European markets. During this period, fine silk foundation and silk pile rugs and carpets were commissioned in Hereke. Artisans produced these silk carpets with elegant designs, and some are of the finest quality. Popular silk background designs were the Shah Abbas pattern in mihrab or allover styles. Some of these rugs had poems or religious messages inscribed in the borders, or above the arches. Most Hereke silk rugs have either a decorative gold or a silver metallic weft to create a brocade effect for the field and border designs. This metal-lic-thread-weft brocade style was inspired by Shah Abbas Safavid royal court weavings of the late sixteenth century. Many of the Hereke silks were commissioned by the Ottoman royal court to be given as gifts to monarchs, foreign ambassadors, and the nobility throughout the world.
The vast range of carpets woven and manufactured in Anatolia continued to dominate the European markets until the early twentieth century. During World War I, the Ottoman Empire col-lapsed and lost the remaining occupied territories of the Balkans and Middle East. The carpet weaving industry greatly suffered because of the scarcity of sheep, which were used for food and to supply armies with wool for clothing and blankets. Rising from the ashes of devastation and ruin after the war, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938) became leader, removing the Ottoman monarchy to create a Turkish Republic. To correct the broken economy after the war, Ataturk started a campaign to lend money and supplies to support manufacturers and weavers to restart carpet production.
Antique Anatolian carpets and textiles are well regarded by consumers, collectors, and museums throughout the world. Tribal weavings beginning with the Seljuks and continuing over the centuries with contributions by the Armenians, Greeks, Turkmens, Kurds, Chechens, and Tatars thereafter are considered masterpieces in the antique market. These ethnic tribes throughout the Ottoman Empire, along with Persian, Egyptian, and European influences in design and color, have helped Turkey to create the highest quality woven art.

Bibliography

• Abraham Levi Moheban. 2015. The Encyclopedia of Antique Carpets: Twenty-Five Centuries of Weaving. NewYork: Princeton Architectural Press.
• Peter F. Stone. 2013. Oriental Rugs: An Illustrated Lexicon of Motifs, Materials, and Origins. North Clarendon: Tuttle.