Middle East, Carpet;

Carpet, Lotto Carpet, Turkish, 16th/17th century
WARP: white wool; Z2S; 17 threads per inch (70 per dm).
WEFT: red wool; Z-spun, unplied; 2 shoots after each row of knots; 11 knots per inch (60 per dm). Several 'lazy lines' are evident.
PILE: wool; 8 colours: red, light red, yellow, green, blue, dark brown, brown, white; symmetrical knot tied around 2 threads; 93 knots per sq. inch (1750 per dm).
SIDE FINISH: missing
END FINISH: missing
DESIGN: Field: red ground with a typical Lotto design with yellow arabesques and blue infillings frequently outlined with red.
Main border: yellow ground in lowest part, dark brown along most of the sides and green in the uppermost part. White pseudo-Kuffic pattern outlined with brown, or green or dark brown. There is infillings in red, light red, yellow and blue.
Inner border: red ground with a geometric meander.
Note: the 'lazy-lines' have cause some distortion in the pattern in te lower part of the carpet.
Catalogue Date: 13.10.97

Purchased as "Persian Rug" from Giuseppe Salvadori in Florence, by Arthur Skinner, then assistant director of the museum.

Memo of 16.IX.'97 to Sir John Donnelly asks permission for Mr Skinner "to purchase objects to the value of £100 during his holiday in Italy with "expenses for eight days (£8.8s)."
24/9 Mr Skinner to Mr Clarke reports:
"Salvadori, Florence, embroideries, carpets (paid) frs. 760.
Minute paper:
"The following amounts written off Mr Skinner's imprest account 4th January 1898
Amount paid to G. Salvadori Lire 240 @ 26.40 = £ 9. 1. 9d.
520 @ 26.41 19.13. 9

There is no itemization.

There are two obvious features in this carpet: a large area of re-knotting in the centre and the fact that the upper border has been knotted in slightly different colours - the dark brown used in the other three borders is missing. This yellow and red design was popular for over a century. It was worked from drawings and so its proportions could be easily changed.

904-1897