Description
This 18th century Melas or Melez very antique Oriental carpet measures 4’0” X 5’0”. A very similar example of this rug is in the Turk Ve Islam Eserleri Museum, Istanbul, Inventory NR 318. It can be seen in the book Turkish Handwoven Carpets put out by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism pattern code 0133. Both contain the plane leaf motif on an ivory ground. The borders are very similar. This rug has been professionally repaired, invisibly, and is now an essentially perfect rug. The squat prayer niche and the three amulets in the niche lend credence to it’s great age. The asymmetry of the borders and the poor corner solutions point in the same direction. This is the most beautiful Melas I have ever seen and it is second to none in age and composition. The buyer pays the shipping with insurance of $75.00.
