Lot 136

A 'Lotto' Rug, 17th Century, Ushak region, West Anatolia, the madder field having an all over saffron arabesque design, enclosing unusual 'rams horn' motifs, framed by an indigo cartouche border, 1.91m. x 1.32m. (6ft. 3in. x 4ft. 3in.) 'Lotto' Rugs, with their arabesque lattice design usually in saffron yellow on a madder ground, form one of the most famous groups of Turkish 15th, 16th and 17th Century carpets known today. The precise origin of this distinct corpus of rugs is not known, but current scholarship is in general agreement that they are the product of West Anatolian village production, probably from the Ushak area. South East Europe has also been suggested, however, due to the large numbers of rugs of this sort found in areas such as Transylvania. The term 'Lotto' Rugs derives from the fact that the Venetian artist Lorenzo Lotto depicted carpets with this characteristic design in many of his paintings. They are also found, however, in the work of many other European artists of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, suggesting that this design was both very popular in Europe, and that rugs of this sort were highly coveted objects and symbols of wealth and status. £7000-10000