Antique Decorative Turkish Oushak Rug 47420

Antique Decorative Turkish Oushak Rug, Country of Origin: Turkey, Circa Date:  Early 20th Century – This incredibly striking antique Oushak rug is notable for its enveloping white window or doorway design. The incredible use of negative space gives the rug an otherworldly quality, and serves as a testament to the incredible skill of the Oushak tribal weavers. This piece is in such great condition with good and very soft pile throughout. It features a beautiful pattern that is based off a prayer motif and the colors are just so happy and zen.

The totality of the rug’s domination by this enormous, open door design makes the motifs of rebirth and growth present in the central sapling all the more apparent, as its vivid greens and yellows cut through the stark whites of the rug’s interior. Also notable are the highly ornate, precise asphodel designs edging the sides of the central portion, woven to remind the viewer of curtains and to suggest a subtle inward serenity, and emphasizing the majesty of the doorway design. Upon closer examination, the outer layers are arranged in such a way as to be reminiscent of Ottoman architecture, particularly palatial windows, with their ever-thinning walls conveying a sense of serenity and voluntary isolation in contemplation of the piece. Clever border designs occupy a space between vines and calligraphy, adding to the majesty of the piece without diminishing its natural grace. The rich yellows and greens of the borders supplement the prominent negative spaces, all in white, add to the ornamental, grandiose architectural themes. This is rendered all the more amazing when we consider the rural, tribal nature of Turkish rug weaving, and pays a compliment to the imagination and skill of the weavers, who would have been largely unfamiliar with the architecture they were depicting.