No. 8425, Erzerum Prayer Carpet

around 1800, 177 x 172 cm

Internet price EUR 5500.-

Certificate Description

This small and unusual prayer kilim with its square shape and highly effective border ornamentation was woven in Eastern Turkey. The Ottoman flowers, carnations and hyacinths are shown to the best advantage. All pattern ornaments are arranged in the upward direction and accordingly shaped. The main border with its yellow to ochre ground forms an effective and meaningful pattern and consists of rising trees of life in the vertical borders and smaller flowers in the horizontal borders. Their stems carry beautiful geometrically shaped red-blue carnations. This impressive main border faces a small prayer niche which calls the time of the Seljuks to mind. According to the carpet`s age, the red-ground prayer niche is very freely patterned. It also contains upward-rising ornaments which have to be interpreted as flowers. The flowers` ground colours are set off against each other in yellow and blue. The flowers carry an opening bud at the top. A small white cup-shaped blossom with another small blue-ground blossom on top lies above the bud. The top of the prayer niche is formed by a terraced gable. The corner brackets above the gable are patterned with highly stylized floral motifs which probably represent eremurus flowers. The rectangular field formed by the prayer niche and the brackets is framed by a white-ground border. This border contains small cross motifs in red and blue. The white-ground cross border frames the kilim`s central field, while a second border of the same kind functions as the outside border. The inner cross border is surrounded by a red wavy arabesque from which grow small flowers (hyacinths). They are embedded into the yellow ground of the roof-like motif. The red-ground arabesque recurs in the dark blue outer border. The design and the execution of this carpet indicate that it is a slit kilim which must have been produced and freely designed in the mountains of Eastern Turkey.