Prayer rugs with an architectural kind of pattern representing a portal with an arch supported by two or more columns were probably invented in the manufactories of the Ottoman court in Cairo halfway through the 16th century but then produced in various types on a vast scale in Turkey and elsewhere until the end of the 19th century at least. This elegant specimen, woven in western Anatolia and probably in Ghiordes, still retains many elements of the original court design, albeit simplified and reproduced in a less naturalistic style. The rounded profile of the upper part of the internal niche (sometimes called a “Sultan’s head”) recalls the design of the Ottoman Cairo rugs, as do the two columns, which display small pavilion-shaped elements in the upper part, where the arch rests, and do not rest themselves on authentic bases, as in the 16th-century specimens, but are rather balanced on two aquamaniles or ewers (ibrik), recalling the ritual ablutions required before prayer. The closely-worked decoration with flowering stems in the spandrels around the “Sultan’s head” is typical of a particular group of rugs known as “Basra Ghiordes” and often associated with the “Transylvanian” rugs, this typology being known - albeit with few examples - among the rugs preserved in that region. Rugs of this kind usually have a red ground, whereas the Cerruti rug belongs to the rare category with an ivory ground, which enhances the delicacy of the design. The border is of the type most commonly used for this type, normally described as “Ottoman” because of its derivation from those woven for the court, with an alternation of circular rosettes, palmettes and sickle-shaped saz leaves. The Cerruti rug is in good condition with minimal repair and the presence of numerous diagonal lazy lines in the structure confirms both its authenticity and a dating unquestionably prior to the beginning of the 18th century. 

Alberto Boralevi