In the late fourteenth century, the Osmanli or “Ottoman” Turks were only one
of many competing Anatolian principalities or Beyliks. In less than 50 years, however, they emerged as the pre-eminent Turkish dynasty that would
rule the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia until the First World War.
Rug weaving under the Ottomans had a long and varied development. Initially
it evolved out of the repertory of the Beylik and earlier Timurid carpets
with their allover field designs and Kufic borders. Typical Ottoman rugs of
this type are the so-called “Small Pattern Holbein” and “Memling
Gul” carpets (see Europe & Early Oriental Rugs & Carpets). The early “Animal Carpets" were also another major Ottoman rug
genre. These utilized medallions containing one or more animals, often with
trees of life, rendered in a strongly stylized or geometric style. A
distinctive Ottoman offshoot of the allover medallion format was the
so-called “Lotto” carpet. The Timurid innovation of the central medallion
composition also influenced the development of new versions of the Ottoman
repertoire – the “Large-Pattern Holbein Type,” “Crivelli Star “ and “Ghirlandaio” carpets, and the large medallion animal carpets (see Europe & Early Oriental Rugs & Carpets).
Animal Carpet, Turkey, Fifteenth century, Istanbul, Vakiflar Museum
Star Ushak Carpet, Ushak, Turkey, first half of the seventeenth century Metropolitan Museum
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Animal Carpet, Turkey, 14th - 15th century, Metropolitan Museum, New York
Small Pattern Holbein carpet, Turkey, 16th century, private collection -
gilbert-collection.org.uk
The most significant Ottoman adaptations of the large central medallion
format, however, were the elegant, courtly carpets attributed to the Ushak
region. The earliest of these are now dated to the late fifteenth century,
when they emerged as direct adaptations of the new Timurid central medallion
carpets. Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Ushak
carpets developed a series designs with both star-shaped quatrefoil
medallions, and circular or ogival ones. These had details made up of
sinuous arabesque vinescrolls and tendrils which reflected contemporary
Safavid Persian designs. Ushak produced various types of prayer rug as well.
In the later seventeenth century a single and double niched prayer rug type
also developed. Often attributed to the European areas of the Ottoman
Empire, these “Transylvanian” rugs were probably made in Asiatic Turkey. All
these various Ottoman types, which represented the output of organized urban
manufacturies, largely in western Anatolia, provided the foundation for a
more rustic and lively genre of popular Turkish village weaving all across
Turkey, which was informed by a nomadic taste ultimately reflecting the
Central Asian background or origin of the Turks. This tradition of Turkish
village rug weaving has survived right down into the twentieth century.
Transylvanian Prayer Rug, Ushak, Turkey, first half of the 17th century, Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest, Transylvanian.jpg (from F. Batari, Ottoman Turkish Carpets, no. 65).
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