Turkish Prayer Rug 1070

This vintage Turkish Anatolian area rug from the early 20th century features a beautifully executed prayer Mihrab design of great subtlety and refinement. Handcrafted with natural vegetable dyes that have mellowed gracefully over more than a century, the rug displays a harmonious palette of pale yellow-green and red in the field, complemented by intricate motifs in gray, orange, cream, and red that fill the composition with the kind of detailed visual interest that rewards careful viewing.

The dual red borders frame the composition with vibrant accents of orange, yellow, green, and gray — a border treatment of unusual complexity and richness that gives the piece a formal completeness rarely found in village prayer rugs of this size. The Anatolian prayer rug tradition is one of the most ancient and spiritually resonant in the entire textile world. The mihrab — the arched niche that orients the rug toward Mecca — gives these rugs their distinctive directional quality and their connection to the devotional life of Islam. Village prayer rugs of the 19th and early 20th century are among the most personal and expressive textiles ever made, each a unique expression of the individual weaver's artistic sensibility within a form of deep religious significance.

Dimensions: 3' 10" x 5' 11"

Date of Manufacture: 1st Quarter of the 1900s

Place of Origin: Turkey (Anatolia)

Material: Wool pile on a wool foundation with vegetable dyes

Condition: Wear consistent with age and use

SKU: 1070