Uşak. 1600.

Uşak (110 km west of Afyon) was one of the most important and renowned carpet centers in Ottoman times (late 15th to 18th century). Rug production is still going on today, but on a lesser level and with altered designs.
In the 17th century great quantities of Uşak carpets were made for the royal houses and the Christian churches of Europe. They are named according to their specific design: ‘star’, ‘medallion’, ‘bird’, ‘chintamani’ (or: leopard spot), ‘cloud band’ or after renaissance artists who included them in their paintings: ‘Holbein’ and ‘Lotto’, after Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543) and Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556).

The carpet on this picture is a ‘cloud band’ carpet, because of the multiple use of clouds (and dragons), both in the main field and in the outer border. These motifs symbolize rain, fertility, wealth and never ending good fortune.

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Source: ‘Oriental Rugs, volume 4: Turkish’ (Zipper & Fritzsche) .