Soft Washed Out Color Tribal Design Antique Oushak Carpet from Turkey 47445

Antique Turkish Oushak Rug, Turkey, Early 20th Century – In the villages of Western Anatolia in Turkey, tribesmen near Oushak continue the traditions of centuries of weaving artistry. The distinctive look and feel of these Oushak rugs make them unmistakable. The artistic knotting techniques of the Oushak produce a unique carpet. Sometimes knotted at fewer than 30 knots per inch on an all-wool base, artists replicate older Ushak / Smyra designs. Stellar masterpieces from 1400 to 1600 C.E. have been credited to Oushak. The most familiar designs include stars, florals, medallions and angular graphic designs. These shimmering, silky wool used in the design are unmatched. The colors used in the knotting of the Oushak rugs resemble those of earth’s most arresting shades, from the earth tones of terracotta, the cinnamon shade of Eastern spices, and the gold and blue of the evening sky. Many of the newer rugs are machine woven and use a velvety red as the essential color that counterbalances the large floral motifs woven in brilliant blue. Four decades ago, anthropologists studying Oushak carpets identified the hundreds of carpets which lay upon the floors of some of Istanbul’s major mosques as exclusively from Oushak.