Antique Ghiordes Rugs were a fine
Turkish rug produced about 50 miles north of Smyrna in the
Ottoman vilayet of
Hounaverndikiar. Best known are the Ghiordes Prayer Rug which circa
1900 was
the most popular collector’s rug. Classic prayer rugs with wide borders
and
soft, often off white color they sparked the imaginations of Europe and
the US
as people
began to become familiar with Oriental Rugs. The non-prayer rugs were
and still
are popular as decorator pieces similar to the Ushack rug. Despite the
prominence
in the littérateur the Ghiordes Prayer Rugs only accounted for about a
third of
the total production of Ghiordes rugs.
