1977.166: Prayer Carpet

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1977.166

Title

Prayer Carpet

Classification

Textile Arts

Work Type

rug

Date

1890-1910

Places

Creation Place: Central Asia, Caucasus, South Caucasus

Culture

Caucasian

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/214707

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Wool

Technique

Woven with pile

Dimensions

133 x 113 cm (52 3/8 x 44 1/2 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Elizabeth Gowing, Harborne W. Stuart, Peggy Coolidge, and the Estate of W.I. Stuart in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby H. Stuart, Jr.

Accession Year

1977

Object Number

1977.166

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

Marasali Prayer Rug. Deep blue field with horizontal rows of variously colored botehs forming diagonals by type and ornament, surrounded by reciprocal palisade in red and blue. Three guard borders of five petaled flowers, white ground outer main border with bunches of grapes; yellow ground inner main border with fruits. Around the niche area, an incomplete human form, 2 ewers (ibrik), a piece of jewelry or a comb, and a date,1908, repeated 3 times.

Warp: 2 S plied Z spun white undyed wool on one level. Weft: 1 Z spun yarn in 2 shoots, or occasionally in 2 parallel + 1 construction. Pile: 3, or occasionally 2 (depending on color), S plied Z spun. Pile color: 2 + 3 ply red, 3 ply green, 3 ply yellow, 2 ply green; all 3 ply: dark crimson red, dull medium red, very dark purple red, dark navy blue, medium blue, medium green, light green, dark yellow, very pale yellow, slightly corrosive brown, white, light brown wool; small areas of undyed and dark red silk. Both selvedges: 2 warps wrapped in magenta silk or shiny (mercerized?) cotton. Top: 1/2 cm. blue countered soumak brocade, 2 cm. tapestry weave, stripped, 1 1/2 cm. knot lace. Bottom: 1 cm. knot lace based on 4 warps, 1 cm. left to right countered soumak in brown, dark yellow, and red.

Publication History

• Walter B. Denny, Oriental Rugs, Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C, 1979), pp. 58-59, colorplate 11
• Kristin A. Mortimer and William G. Klingelhofer, Harvard University Art Museums: A Guide to the Collections, Harvard University Art Museums and Abbeville Press (Cambridge and New York, 1986), page 87/figure 93
• Mr. Raoul Tschebull, "To Praise and Pray", HALI, ed. Daniel Shaffer (London, England, November 2002 - December 2002), vol.24, no.6, issue 125, pp.108-109, p.108

Exhibition History

• Enter Ye the Garden: Prayer Rugs of Islam, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 05/26/1989 - 08/20/1989
• Colors of the Caucasus, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/16/1990 - 09/09/1990
• Woven, Hammered, and Thrown: Textiles and Objects from the Islamic World, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/22/1991 - 08/18/1991
• The Best Workmanship, the Finest Materials: Prayer Carpets of the Islamic World, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/03/2002 - 12/15/2002
• Prayer Carpet: Beauty and Purpose, The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, 02/18/2023 - 07/02/2023

Subjects and Contexts

• Collection Highlights
• Google Art Project

Verification Level