A Ghiordes prayer rug, West Anatolia,

Ghiordes prayer rugs, which are sometimes called Basra Ghiordes, often combine design elements, including columns and flowers, derived from Ottoman workshop rugs and earlier Transylvanian rugs, such as lot 14 in this sale. As in the example here, the lush floral motifs of Ottoman workshop weavings have become more stylized and geometric, as well as filled with smaller design details than their Transylvanian precursors. Examples of similar Ghiordes prayer rugs are in the Brukhental Museum, Sibiu, see Ionescu, Stefano, Antique Ottoman Rugs in Transylvania, Rome, 2005, cat. 216, pg. 17 as well as in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, see Dimand M.S. and Jean Mailey, Oriental Rugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1973, figs. 187 and 188. Similar prayer rugs were recently sold at Sotheby's New York, Carpets from the Estate of Vojtech Blau, December 14, 2006, lot 2 and Christie's London, October 9, 2006, lot 50.