An unusual Transylvanian

1-anatolianpicker

Published on rugrabbit by anatolianpicker,this Turkish carpet sports a carpet-within-a-carpet design scheme.The "inserted" mihrab has been woven with a beige brown wefting connecting diagonally to the red weft of the remaining carpet.The ground is a bright yellow,whereas the upper niche and border areas are a typical salmon colour.The yellow areas follow the lazy-lines so carefully that one must rule out the possibility of re-piling.Although worn to a kilim-like consistency,the double-mihrab must have been conspicuous when new.Another example,however,bears a similar secondary design visible only from the back

2-Rippon Boswell 17 May 2003-Lot 70a-sold for 45,600 euro

Weaving the RB example must have been particularly difficult as it entailed creating a kilim within a carpet.Presumably a second weaver would have controlled the work`s progress from the back,or the contours could have been sketched out on the warps.The effect on both carpets is unusual and mysterious.Perhaps more examples exist?The author has often wished for a software which would turn over the corners of rug photos,in order to study their structure.

See Hali 129,page 15,and APG Hali 130-123.

Update 25.11.2017:the author has recently discovered an illuminating lecture delivered at the ICOC by Stefano Ionescu and Ali Riza Tuna  in 2007,and published in 2011.It deals with structure in Transylvanian carpets and also cites three examplesall from the Black Church in Brashov.