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VARIOUS WELL-KNOWN ANATOLIAN RUGS |
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Private collectors,
distinguished families and museums are proud owners of antique carpets.
The richest collections of antique, knotted handmade carpets are found in
the Istanbul Museum of Turkısh and Islamic Arts, the Vakif Carpet Museum
in the Blue Mosque, and the Konya Mevlana Museum. The Museums and
collectors of Europe and the USA own some exquisite pieces, most of which
have been exported from Turkey. During the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries,
handmade Turkish carpets were prized possessions of the noble and wealth
families of Europe. Surviving carpets of this era, are now on display in
museums. For the last century or more, handmade knotted carpets have been a subject of research for experts and art historians. Great numbers of books and journals have been published on the subject, showing that the making of handmade carpets is an important art form. The spread of knowladge through such publications has caused an increased demand for fine carpets. Carpets are produced in an area extending from the Mediterranean coast of Turkey to the steppes of Central Asia, and authorities conclude that the art of weaving knotted carpets, was introduced by Turkish nomadic tribes and craftsmen. Traditional Turkish carpet making with its distinctive techniques, materials, patterns and knotting, has had a strong influence upon all oriental carpets. In art history books, one comes across carpets that date back to the Pharaosh,the ancient Persians and the Caliphs. However, these were not knotted carpets, but were rugs woven using the simple “towel” technique. The hard-wearing, double-knotted carpets are the invention of Turkish tribes. The techniques used in handmade carpets were brought to the Mediterranean coast by the Seljuks in the 12th century. Marco Polo mentions rich displays of carpets in palaces and mosques.The demand for carpets in different periods dictated the pace of the development of carpet weaving, but high quality handmade carpets have always found a ready market. Textile products are not resistant to destruction by nature. The oldest carpets known was discovered, frozen in ice, by Russian archaeologists in 1984, and it is called the “Pazırık” carpet. This carpet, which measures 1.80 m by 2 m., is dated to the 4th-1st centuries B.C. and is on exhibit in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg (Leningrad). The “Pazırık”carpet is tightly knotted, and therefore indicates that the art of carpet weaving had emerged long before its production.Dicovered in the mausoleum of the leader of a migratory tribe, who lived in the region and during the age of the Turkish Huns, the “Pazırık” carpet is an early and the sole example exhibiting the Turkish double knot. Not much is known of the progress of the art of knotted carpet weaving prior to the Seljuk Turkish Empire (11th century A.D.) Some of the pieces of carpets discovered in Turkmenistan,and dating to the 3rd-6th centuries A.D., are in museums. Development of the Turkish art of carpet weaving since the 12th century is known.Besides the carpets themselves, in Turkey and other countries,it is possible to see examples of Turkish carpets in the paintings of 15th-16th century European painters. In general,the Seljuk carpets have geometric designs.Starting in the 15th century,the Ottoman carpets were imported to Europe by Latin traders, and thus elegant, durable and decorative carpets were used in the western world for the first time. The stylised animal figures and geometric designs used in the 14th and 15th centuries were replaced by stylised plant motifs in the 16th century. The 17th century is the age of Ottoman Imperial carpets with designs of medallions and detailed plant motifs.Rooted traditions ensured the progress of the art of carpet weaving even during the difficult periods in the Ottoman Empire. The silk carpets produced on the palace-subsidised looms of Hereke and Kumkapı in the 19th century, are amazingly beautiful museum pieces. After 1923, and Turkey becoming a Republic, the State subsidised the production of carpets from time to time. In regard to variety, quality and price, today’s Turkish handmade carpets, produced in both private and State-subsidised workshops, along with those produced in towns and villages, are durable and beautiful handmade products popular all over the world. In the 16 th 17 th and 18th
century, Gordes (Ghordes), Kula, Milas, Ladik, Mucur, Kirsehir, There are four types of rugs produced in Turkey; they are classified according to the materials used. The categories include
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