1700-1850, Turkish; Ghiordes

Carpet, prayer carpet, hand knotted woollen pile on woollen warp and woollen and cotton weft, Turkish, Giordes, 19th/early 20th century.
Woven from the point of the niche.
WARP: white wool; Z2S; depressed; 21-24 threads per inch (84 per dm)
WEFT: white cotton and blue wool; cotton: Z spun, apparently unplied, 2 parallel threads; wool: Z spun, unplied, 2 parallel threads; 2 shoots after each row of knots, many lazy lines especially at changes of weft colour; 14-17 knots per inch (60 per dm)
PILE: wool; 12 colours: dark red, red, dark yellow, yellow, green, light green, green (faded to blue), dark blue, black, cream, white (cotton); symmetrical knot tied around two warp threads; 147-204 knots per sq inch (2520 per sq dm)
SIDE FINISH: web of 6 threads overcast in green silk.
END FINISH: Lower: 1" (2 cm) of green silk plainweave with several passes of yellow wool and white cotton.
Upper: cut: 1cm of plainweave with green silk weft and several passes of yellowwool; 1cm of plainweave with white cotton weft and more passes with yellow wool. Evidence of further band of plainweave with green silk.
DESIGN: Field: Cream gound with a green faded to blue, pointed and shouldered niche with an edging of small white cotton carnations; in the spandrels diagonal lines of small floral sprigs follow the angle of the niche; a lower panel with white cottong ground has a line of stylized flowers - 3 tulips, a carnation and, possibly, a spray of hyacinths; an upper panel with white cotton ground has a narrow floral meander.
MAIN BORDER: cream ground; repeated vertical motif of a small vase from which rise sprays of hyacinths, tulips and carnations in dark red, red and white (cotton).
INNER BORDER: dark yellow ground with dark red, red and blue stylized flowers.
OUTER BORDER: dark blue ground with elaborate 'S' motifs separated by a pair of inward-facing triangles.

Date Catalogued: 07/07/98

Given by Sir Eric Miller

Small carpets such as this with a single arch are sometimes referred to as 'prayer carpets' because mats are often used to define a person's space during muslim prayer rituals. The arch is usually taken to represent the mihrab or decorative panel in the wall of a mosque which indicates the direction of Mecca. Both white cotton and blue wool have been used as weft in this carpet: white cotton is found throughout most of the length and blue wool has been used in the centre to intensify the colour of the large, undecorated area.

T.83-1957