Medallion and tulips rug
Karapinar
Central Anatolia
circa 1850
223 x 128 cm (7’4” x 4’2”)
symmetrically knotted wool pile on a wool foundation

In her ground-breaking article on the carpets in the mosques from the Konya area (m.h. Beattie, Some Rugs of the Konya region, Oriental Art, xvii, London 1976, pp.60-76), May Beattie ascribes to Karapinar a specific pattern composed of geometric medallions embellished by tulip motifs. However we have seen that the rugs from the Karapinar area vary considerably in structure from those of neighbouring regions, having a sturdily constructed skeleton with moderate to highly depressed warps, the latter often being natural undyed wool with frequently dark wool wefts. The palette also seems to favour the darker brown tonalities, contrasting strongly with ivory. In this example the dark brown field is decorated by an infinite repeat of cruciform elements alternated to tulips, onto which is placed a stepped octagonal medallion embellished by tulips and eight-petaled rosettes. These also decorate the ivory inner border, alternated to a highly stylised tree-form of strong tribal character, similar to a motif we sometimes see on the kilims from this area. The outer trefoil border is also reminiscent of the frame of seventeenth century Ottoman court kilims.

http://www.albertolevi.com/products_index.asp?TL=ENG&IDCat=44