Table carpet thumbnail 1
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 63, The Edwin and Susan Davies Gallery

Table carpet

Table Carpet
1550-1600 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The threads used in the warp of this carpet were dyed green so that they would form a coloured fringe as it hung over a cube-shaped table. The warp was prepared so that the greatest width of the carpet could be accommodated on the loom and the weavers tied knots within the required outline. When the carpet was finished, the excess warp threads were trimmed and secured.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleTable carpet (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Hand knotted woollen pile, on woollen warp and weft; asymmetrical knot, open to the left; 195 knots per sq. in (3,000 per sq. dm)
Brief description
Table carpet woven in cruciform shape, wool knotted pile on wool foundation, medallion design with Ottoman floral motifs on red ground, probably Ottoman Cairo, Egypt, 1550-1600
Physical description
Table Carpet, hand knotted woollen pile on woollen warp and weft, woven to shape asymmetrical knot.
WARP: green and yellow wool, often twisted together; S3Z; 26 threads per inch (100 cms); depressed.
WEFT: yellow wool and red wool; unable to ascertain number of ply, but the threads are S-spun, Z-plied; 3 shoots after each row of knots; 15 knots per inch (60 knots per dm).
PILE: wool; 8 colours: red, yellow, green, dark blue, blue, light blue, brown, white; asymmetrical knot open to the left and tied around 2 threads; 195 knots per sq. inch (3000 per sq. dm).
SIDE FINISH: Web of 9 cords (the outer one is composed of three warp threads and is thicker than the others) worked with yellow wool; the outer cord is oversewn with red wool.
END FINISH: Maximum of 8" (20.5 cms) loose green warp ends.
DESIGN: Field: Central square: red ground containing central roundel with carnations, hyacinths and tulips coming out of central boss. Outer roundel has tulips, roses, carnations, daisies and tiger stripes. Each corner contains a floral spray.
Flaps: the four flaps have inner roundel as above but also corner medallions with the blue/green carnations, hyacinths and tulips on a yellow ground.
Main border: elaborate saz blossoms with curling leaves on a red ground.
Narrow borders: which separate flaps and field; bracketed blue and red blossoms on yellow.
Dimensions
  • Height: 89cm
  • Width: 125cm
  • Depth: 114cm
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Style
Gallery label
Table Carpet Mid 16th century Woven in a single piece, this cruciform carpet was made to be put on a table, as shown in the painting by Sofonisba Anguissola nearby. Italian inventories of the time refer frequently to ‘carpets for tables’. Since high tables did not exist in the Middle East, this carpet must have been made for export to Europe. [56 words] Probably Cairo Wool, hand knotted V&A: 151-1883(5 Oct 2006 - 7 Jan 2007)
Object history
When purchased, this carpet was thought to be a Persian canopy carried above a person of rank during processions.
Bought at the Bon Marche sale, Paris, through Mr. Purdon Clarke

Historical significance: Table carpets are normally round or cruciform; this is the best-known example of the latter type.
Historical context
Carpets like this were made in the East Mediterranean for export to Europe (since tables were not a standard item of furniture in the contemporary Islamic world).
Production
Carpets with this combination of design and technique are now believed to date from the mid-sixteenth century and to come from the East Mediterranean, although their precise attribution is still uncertain.
Subjects depicted
Summary
The threads used in the warp of this carpet were dyed green so that they would form a coloured fringe as it hung over a cube-shaped table. The warp was prepared so that the greatest width of the carpet could be accommodated on the loom and the weavers tied knots within the required outline. When the carpet was finished, the excess warp threads were trimmed and secured.
Bibliographic references
  • Yetkin (1981), illus. 64, 'Ottoman Court Carpet, cruciform table-cover, 16th century'. Dimand (1973), illus. 187, 'Prayer rug, court manufactory, Bursa or Istanbul, end of 16th or beginning of 17th century.' NB border floral 'palmettes'. Kuhnel and Bellinger (1957) pl 24, analysis p.45, 'Ottoman rugs from Cairo, middle of the 16th century' and plate 31, and page 53, '... Cairo, early 17th century'. NB borders and analysis. illustrated and mentioned 'E Mediterranean carpets in the V&A' by R. Pinner and M. Franses (intro by Donald King), analysis by M. Franses. Hali 1981 Vol.4 No.1 P. 36,45,47,49 Referred to in: Suebebhundert Jahre Orientteppich by Kurt Erdmann, 1966, page 220 Historical Turkish Carpets by Serare Yetkin, 1981, pge 105. The Persian Carpet by Cecil Edwards, 1975, page 14, plate 3.
  • Delpot, Eric et al. Le Ciel dans un Tapis. Gand : Snoeck, Gand, 2004 45
  • Kurt Erdmann, 'Kairener Teppiche, Teil II: Mamluken- und Osmanenteppiche,' Ars Islamica 7 (1940): 74 and fig. 15.
  • Kurt Erdmann, Europa und der Orientteppich, Berlin, 1962, fig. 62.
  • F. R. Martin, A History of Oriental Carpets before 1800, Vienna, 1908, pl. 152.
  • R. Pinner and M. Franses, 'The East Mediterranean Carpet Collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum,' Hali vol. 4 no. 1 (1981): 36, 45, 47, 49, fig. 11.
  • Kurt Erdmann, Siebenhundert Jahre Orientteppich, Herford, 1966, pp. 220-21.
  • Serare Yetkin, Historical Turkish Carpets (transl. Maggie Quigley), Istanbul, 1981, p. 105.
  • King, Donald & Sylvester, David. The Eastern carpet in the Western world from the 15th to the 17th century. London : Hayward Gallery, 1983 p.81, Cat. no. 52 Donald King and David Sylvester, The Eastern Carpet in the Western World (London: Hayward Gallery, 1983) p.81.
  • Jennifer Wearden, Oriental Carpets and their Structure: Highlights from the V&A Collection, London, 2003, Plate 83.
  • Donald King, Robert Pinner and Michael Franses, "East Mediterranean Carpets in the Victoria & Albert Museum", HALI, 4/1 (1981) pp.36-52.
  • Ajmar-Wollheim, Marta and Flora Dennis, At Home in Renaissance Italy, London: V&A Publishing, 2006.
  • Baker, Malcolm, and Brenda Richardson (eds.), A Grand Design: The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London: V&A Publications, 1999.
  • Burton, Anthony, Precious an illustrated guide to the exhibition held at the Millennium Galleries, Sheffield, 5 April.-24 June 2001, Sheffield, Sheffield Galleries & Museums Trust, 2001 p.174
Collection
Accession number
151-1883

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Record createdAugust 22, 2002
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