DAMASCUS RUG

usually small floor covering, reportedly made in Damascus, Syria, in the 16th or 17th century in continuation of the rug art of the Mamluk rulers of that land. The usual Damascus field pattern is a grid of small squares or rectangles (hence the European term chessboard carpets), each of which includes a hexagon or octagon filled with tiny radial motifs that surround a star interlace. Among the other field patterns that occur is a large one with several medallions. The material is thought to be goat hair throughout. These rugs, like the Mamluk and Ottoman carpets of Egypt, were made with the Sehna form of knot.