MUJUR RUG

any of the prayer rugs handwoven in Mucur (Mujur, or Mudjar), a village near Kirsehir in central Turkey. As have the designs of Makri rugs, the designs of Mujur prayer rugs have been likened to those on the medieval stained-glass windows of European churches. The characteristic design in older examples, from the 19th century, is a prayer niche with a stepped arch crowned by a little turret form that is echoed in the crenellations of a narrow cross panel above. The niche is soft red and may contain a skeleton tree or be perfectly plain except for an edging of small triangular indentations. The green spandrels (spaces between the exterior curves of the arch and the enclosing right angle) display stylized ewers. The broad stripe of the border is composed of varicoloured, carefully detailed squares, reminiscent of tilework, and the soft-blue inner stripe has a diamond pattern.