Antique Melas Prayer Rug
N°
00N01
Period
Circa 1880
Origin
Anatolia
Status
Available
Size
162 cm x 1245'3" x 4'0"
A classic textbook example of Melas prayer rug, distinguished, like in the preceding piece, by the direction of weaving following the direction of the niche. One of the greatest attractions of this family of rugs is the particularly abundant use of a fascinating dark eggplant colour, affectionately called ‘aubergine’ by all rug lovers, and characteristic of the earlier vintage of Turkish weavings.
- Warp: wool, ivory
- Weft: wool, rust, 1-3 shots between knotted rows
- Knot: symmetrical, weaving direction is adjacent to niche, slight warp depression
- Knot count: 8H x 9V = 72 knots/square inch
- Selvages: flat, four sets of paired warps
- Ends: top with original weft-faced plain weave with bands of oblique interlacing
- Colours: rust red, light orange, purple, light yellow, medium blue, black, ivory (7)
- Condition: pile is good to medium, with some low areas to knot collars. No repairs except some scattered knots and minor work on the selvages