HEREKE CARPET

Silk Hereke carpet with design based on an Ottoman court prayer rug, from Turkey, early 20th 1/4 floor covering handwoven in imperial workshops founded late in the 19th century at Hereke, Turkey, about 40 miles (64 km) east of Istanbul. Large carpets and prayer rugs with pile of wool or silk were made there for palace use and for gifts presented by the sultan. Antique carpets of various kinds were copied or patterns were created following Western fashions. Usually a tiny cartouche hidden in the design identifies the carpet's origin. These imperial workshops, or slightly earlier ones in the same neighbourhood, are increasingly believed to have been the source of a number of prayer and medallion rugs with modified Persian designs and inscriptions; the greatest concentration of these rugs-more than 30-is in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.