37
The Sebes Two-Column Rug
Possibly Kula region, eastern Manisa Province, early 18th century
121 x 177 cm, wool pile on a wool foundation
Evangelical Church, Sebes (Muhlbach), inv. no. 46
The deep red field is interrupted by two columns, each with a ewer placed upside-down at the base. In the mihrab is a hanging lamp or vase, with three short chains; from the lamp emerges a stem with a carnation and two tulip-like buds that point downwards, in the direction the rug was made. As with the previous example (exhib no. 36), the spandrels are joined by a stem, as if to create a second, underlying field. In the panel above the spandrels are three cartouches with stylised Kufic script.
text and images © Sakip
Sabanci Museum, Istanbul
and textile-art, London, 2007:
not to be reproduced without permission