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AN OTTOMAN COURT CARPET, Possibly Cairene, 16th century. The present lot is an example of an Ottoman

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:25,000.00 - 35,000.00 USD
AN OTTOMAN COURT CARPET, Possibly Cairene, 16th century. The present lot is an example of an Ottoman
AN OTTOMAN COURT CARPET, Possibly Cairene, 16th century. The present lot is an example of an Ottoman Court carpet. The origins of carpets of this type, sometimes referred to as "Damascus" carpets (see Dimand, M.S. & Mailey, Jean, Oriental Rugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1973, p. 196) have been written about extensively. Some scholars believe these carpets are of Egyptian manufacture attributable to Cairo, and some believe they are Turkish Court products, attributable to Istanbul or Bursa. The Ottomans conquered Egypt in 1517, and many Egyptian carpets woven subsequent to this date display stylistic elements believed to reflect Ottoman influence. In 1585, eleven Cairene weavers were ordered by Sultan Murad III to the Turkish court in Istanbul (see Dimand & Mailey p.196). Some scholars maintain that the floral design court carpets like the present lot were woven in Egypt using some traditional Mamluk design elements, colors and materials, but modified to suit the specifications of Turkish designers in court workshops of Bursa or Istanbul (see Bennett, Ian, Rugs & Carpets of the World, London, 1977, p. 115). Carpets are thought to have been woven in Cairo since the fifteenth century (see Erdmann, Kurt, Seven Hundred Years of Oriental Carpets, London, 1970, p. 198) and there is evidence from the diaries of the French traveler Thevenot that rugs were being woven in Cairo up until 1663 (see Kuhnel, Ernst and Bellinger, Louisa, The Textile Museum, Catalogue Raisonne: Cairene Rugs and Others Technically Related 15th century-17th century, Washington, D.C., 1957, p. 41). European inventories of the 16th and 17th centuries refer to Cairene carpets, although there is no mention of whether the name "Cairene" referes to a place of manufacture or to a trade center (see Dimand & Mailey, p. 196). Those scholars that believe that Ottoman court carpets are of Turkish Court manufacture note that the Turks had a centuries old rug weaving tradition before the arrival of the Cairene weavers and that with the Ottomans' capture of Tabriz in 1514 and again in 1534, Turkish weavers were already familiar with fine Persian rug designs that featured Senna knots (see Dimand and Mailey, p.197). This suggests that Ottoman Court carpets were extensions of already existent designs of Turkish rug weavers (see Bennett, p. 117). It has also been suggested that Ottoman floral Court carpet manufacture be divided into two groups based on structural differences, with wool foundation carpets attributed to Cairo and silk foundation carp