Lot 153

BERGAMA RUG

For the layman, the unusual colour palette clearly points to ancient Anatolia, and what would elsewhere be interpreted as garishness and as evidence of synthetic dyes is, for certain antique Ottoman carpets, one of the proofs of their authenticity (assuming colour fastness, which our carpet clearly proves). In the case of the natural purple dye, it is most likely the use of the root of the dyer's moth (rubia tinctorum), the dye having probably been set on the wool with alum salt. Equally interesting is the composition, dominated in the centre by the mysterious and archaic tree of life, above which are, among other things, two red and white motifs, referred to as the 'wheel of destiny', all interestingly interwoven with flowers, stars or ram's horns. It is worth noting that in one lower bend of the broad white border is a mysterious purple motif, the meaning of which was apparently known only to the carpet's creator and cannot be reliably interpreted today, and almost as remarkable is that the filling of the motifs differs between the upper and lower parts of the purple field. Professionally cleaned on both sides