This fragment is a companion piece to a kilim formerly with Jurg Rageth, exhibited during the 1993 ICOC in Berlin at the Islamic Museum and published in the accompanying catalogue (W. Bruggemann, Yayla, plate 32). Both pieces were originally part of a very large kilim of the type thought to have been made for tents, either in battle or for ceremonial occasions. With designs related to those of the Ottoman court style, they are often referred to as court kilims. With S-spun wool and dovetailed tapestry, which creates a distinctive indented outline, unlike Turkish kilims, they were probably made in Egypt for the Ottoman market. Here the carnations, with petals defined by coloured lines, recall those on four fragments, now with various owners, resembling a Cairene Ottoman carpet (see p.46, HALI 92, p.104). These divided flowers also occur on certain rugs from the Konya region, including the border of one formerly in the Christopher Alexander Collection (A Foreshadowing …,p.247).
Conserved on a linen backing and mounted on a wooden stretcher