A 'Star' Oushak carpet, West Anatolia,

Colour is slightly softer overall: red is less bright and design elements with more distinct blues and greens than in catalogue illustration. Pile is generally evenly low to knotheads with areas at each end of the field near original approximate 1/8 inch good pile; dark browns and some greens oxidised to knotheads and foundation with some repiling to dark brown outlines. Both end borders rewoven and side borders with areas of original within extensively repiled and rewoven system. Two large reweaves at the upper corners of the field and scattered old reweaves throught carpet (mostly now faded.) Small slits and scattered pinholes, generally at joins of reweaves. Some areas of wear, foldwear and oxidation showing spot foundation. Sides and ends restored and stabilized. Supple handle, restored and respectable condition for age. Good colour retention and very handsome example of this design group.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Written records indicate that carpets and rugs were woven in the city of Oushak in Western Anatolia as early as the late fifteenth century. Weavers in Oushak were the first in the Ottoman Empire to produce carpets for the European market where, during the Renaissance and the Baroque periods, carpets were held in especially high regard. Rugs and carpets from Oushak were imported to adorn the residences of the political and financial elite and to serve as a veritable symbol of wealth and status. These weavings  also appeared in the works of the most distinguished artists of the time, such as Jan Vermeer or Paris Bordone, for example in the latter's 'The Delivery of the Ring to the Doge' of circa 1535, now in the Gellerie dell'Accademia, Venice, inv.no.318. Carpets and rugs from Oushak were produced with many different patterns arranged in accordance with the principle of the endless repeat, but few were as complex in their arrangement of motifs as Medallion and Star Oushak carpets. The lot offered here, with its large quatrefoil lobed stars, is an outstanding example of a Star Oushak carpet from the late sixteenth century. As surviving pieces and written accounts suggest, Star Oushak carpets were not produced after the seventeenth century and were perfected in a very short period of time. Interestingly, these carpets never showed any signs of demise before their sudden disappearance in the late 1600s. Star Oushak carpets can be embellished with different variants of the star motif and it has been suggested that pieces with four-lobed stars predate those with eight-lobed stars, see Donald King, "Turkish Carpets in the Victoria and Albert Museum," Hali, Vol.6 No.4, 1984, p.367. It has also been suggested that the designs of the tiles of the sixteenth-century Gök Mescid mosque in Tabriz could have been a source for the development of the Star Oushak pattern, see Oktay Aslanapa, One Thousand Years of Turkish Carpets, Istanbul, 1988, p.113. What makes the current lot particularly interesting and rare is the unusual combination of three different design elements that make this piece more complex than the majority of Star Oushak carpets and rugs. These elements are the quatrefoil star, the diamond-shaped medallion and the square medallion. Among the very few examples with a similarly intricate design is a quatrefoil Oushak rug in the Joseph Lees Williams Memorial Collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art that has a virtually identical arrangement of motifs, see Charles Grant Ellis, Oriental Carpets in the Philadelphia Museum of Arts, Philadelphia, 1988, p.70. Another carpet with a comparable design can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, see Walter B. Denny, Anatolian Carpets, Washington, D.C., 2003, p.42. An unusual feature is the use of the palmette and leaf border design, on a dark brown ground, in combination with Star field design. The overall rarity of this piece, together with the unusual combination of design elements and its rich and vibrant colour, makes the current lot a rare opportunity for today's collectors.