Prayer rug, dyed, felt-like wool
Ottoman Empire; end of 17th century
H: 154; W: 104 cm
Inventory number 18/1989
A prayer rug is an article for everyday use, and not only in the mosque. It can also be rolled out anywhere else in the direction of Mecca when the time for prayer comes. This one was designed like traditional prayer rugs with a stylized oil lamp at the top of a mihrab-like niche. It also features the type of floral ornamentation with tulips and other flowers that became a favorite motif in Ottoman art from the 16th century.
The rug is made up of pieces of felt of different colors that were cut out and sewn into matching holes in the rug’s ground cloth. Rugs of this kind with bold, simple decorations were captured as war booty when the Turks besieged Vienna in 1683.
The rug is made up of pieces of felt of different colors that were cut out and sewn into matching holes in the rug’s ground cloth. Rugs of this kind with bold, simple decorations were captured as war booty when the Turks besieged Vienna in 1683.
Published in
Published in
Kjeld von Folsach: Art from the World of Islam in The David Collection, Copenhagen 2001, cat.no. 662;
Dagmar Neuland-Kitzerow, Salwa Joram, Erika Karasek (eds.): Tuchintarsien in Europa von 1500 bis heute,= Inlaid patchwork in Europe from 1500 to the present, Regensburg 2009, pp. 204-205;
Dagmar Neuland-Kitzerow, Salwa Joram, Erika Karasek (eds.): Tuchintarsien in Europa von 1500 bis heute,= Inlaid patchwork in Europe from 1500 to the present, Regensburg 2009, pp. 204-205;
