Hereke carpet

Hereke carpet

from western Turkey

early 20th century

Size: 445 x 390 cm

The manufactory of Hereke is located on the Sea of Marmora some sixty kilometres south of Istanbul. The 1844 buildings were erected at the order of Sultan Abdul Hamid to produce carpets for the Ottoman court which was the case until its demise in the early 1920’s.

Along with the weaving facilities, a school of design was established which borrowed heavily from the best carpets of previous ages.

In the early part of this century the workshops produced very fine quality roomsize carpets, such as this one, destined for western markets. It bears the Hereke signature for the period in the top left hand corner.