Woven Wonders: The Art of Ottoman Carpets
The Carpet and Rug Collection of the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts
The Entrance of the Museum of Turkish and Islamic ArtsThe Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts
The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul Sultanahmet Square has a rich archive of carpets and rugs.
The Second Court of the Museum of Turkish and Islamic ArtsThe Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
The carpets commissioned by Ottoman Sultans, along with members of the dynasty, were donated to large religious institutions. They were collected from various mosques and tombs in Anatolia between 1911 and 1914, and the number of carpets and rugs in the museum reached 1,700, procured by various donations and purchases.
The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, General ViewThe Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
The carpet collection, which started with the earliest Seljuk period, was enriched with Ottoman carpets. Seccade (prayer rugs) and animal figured carpets, Uşak carpets, large-sized carpets from different regions of Iran and the Caucasus constitute an important part of the collection.
Seljukian CarpetThe Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
Wool Carpet (Seljuk)
The nine pieces of carpets were found in the Konya Alaêddin Mosque in 1905 by German Consul Julius Harry Löytved-Hardegg. Three are complete and the others in fragments. They date back to the 13th century and are the oldest dated Turkish carpets in the museum.
These carpets are made with double Gördes (Turkish) knots and are very rich in decor and color.
Another carpet group of the museum consists of Ottoman period carpets. Certain types of Ottoman carpets have become known by the names of European painters such as Hans Holbein, Lorenzo Lotto, Carlo Crivelli, Memling, who frequently painted them.
Wool Carpet (Holbein Kind)The Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
Wool Carpet (Holbein type)
Late 16th century, Western Anatolia
Bergama
234 x 176
The classical period of Ottoman carpet art begins with the 16th century. Large-scale carpets and prayer rugs, woven in large workshops with a repertoire of patterns prepared by palace nakkas, played an important role in the furnishing of mosques, palaces and mansions of the period.
Wool carpet (Crivelli kind)The Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
Wool Carpet (Crivelli Type)
16th century, Western Anatolia
150 x 130
In addition to the Medallion and Starred Uşak Carpets, which are prominent among Uşak Carpets, many Uşak carpets with chintemani-Chinese cloud patterns, birds, white background, dark background and flowers have an important place in the museum collection.
Wool Carpet (Medallioned Kind)The Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
Wool Carpet (Medallion Type)
Late 16th century, Uşak
485x 298
17th century carpets are again represented with examples from important centers such as Bergama, Gördes, Demirci, Çanakkale, Konya, Aksaray, Niğde, and especially Uşak.
Carpet with a Dragon FigureThe Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
Wool Carpet (Dragon Figured)
Ottoman, 17th century, Uşak
200 x 158 cm
The carpet is remarkable for the stylized dragon motifs on the ground. The main border of the carpet, which has four borders, is a water formed by yellow and brown Rumis on a white broken line on a red colored ground. It was brought to the museum from Sivrihisar Sheikh Baba Yusuf Mosque.
Ottoman Carpet from 17th centuryThe Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
Ottoman Carpet
17th century, Uşak
226x 155 cm
The second border of the rug, which is wider, is decorated with yellow, red and white ornaments on a navy blue ground. There are two asymmetrically positioned keyhole motifs on opposite sides of the carpet with a red ground. It was brought to the museum from the Tomb of Alaattin Keykubad in Konya.
Carpet Prayer Rug (Bellini Type) by Ottoman Empire Period (17th century)The Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
Seccade carpet (Prayer Rug)
Ottoman, 18th century
195 x 135 cm
There is a hexagon on a light-green background surrounded by a white. The center is worked with hooked line and has a tile-colored background. The four corners of the carpet are embellished by white calligraphy with a blue background, and red and orange ornaments. It was brought to the museum from Sivrihisar Sheikh Baba Yusuf Mosque.
Silk CarpetThe Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
Silk Carpet
Ottoman, 19th century216 x 131 cm
On the white ground of the carpet; the shores of the Golden Horn of Istanbul and the Marmara Sea are depicted in brown, green and beige. A border patterned with stylized rose and leaf motifs in the shape of water surrounds all four sides; thin on the outside, thick in the middle and thin on the inside. On one side of the border is written "İstanbul'un Manzara-ı Umumisi" (Istanbul Landscape) in old Turkish.
