Vintage Oushak Runner, Mid-20th Century

This unusual east Turkestan kenare shows a windowpane field in a three by eight array, all on a light blue ground, with alternations of roundel “moon” medallions with circular openwo...

This solidly woven runner shows a sandy ecru field with arabesques and small rosettes and palmettes in an allover, repeating pattern. The tonally en suite...

This borderless runner shows an allover diamond lattice with brown squares at the vertices on an oatmeal ground. The condition is good and the lattice is subtle, giving a very modern...

A vintage Turkish Oushak rug in runner format handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 3' 1" x 11' 7" Until the Great Persian Carpet Revival in the later 19th century, the “Oriental rug” was Turkish. For nearly six centuries, Turkish rugs, both scatter, room size, and even larger, thoroughly dominated the European import market. Whereas the Persian carpet can be divided into urban, village, and tribal types, in Turkey and its predecessor the Ottoman Empire, rugs almost exclusively came from village weavers and from a small number of urban workshops. Ninety percent village, nine percent city, one percent tribal. Turkish weavers have, with very few exceptions, always worked with the symmetric (Turkish) knot. Wool foundations are standard practice among both town and village weavers. The exceptions, very finely woven 20th century and recent Herekeh silks from near Istanbul, and early 17th century Ottoman Court rugs from Bursa, constitute only a tiny part of the total. Always pricey, they appealed and still appeal to the clients who want lots of knots and perfect execution instead of individual personality. The urban workshops have been centered around the western Turkish city of Oushak and its attendant port town of Smyrna. Oushak weaves with the trends in fashion. When color saturated medallion carpets were needed, Oushak was ready in the 17th and 18th centuries. When coarse red and blue carpets...