Hereke in pure silk | 167 x 108 cm | Nr. 16612

Hereke in pure silk

Delivery time	2 days
Origin	Turkey
Dimensions	167 cm x 108 cm (= 1.8 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: pure silk Weft & Warp: pure silk
knots	560.000
Year of manufacture	1980
Condition	pre-owned, cleaned & partially restored
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

Very valuable silk rugs come from the Turkish town of Hereke. The tradition was fostered by the art-loving Sultan Abd-ul-Medjid (reigned 1839 - 1861). In 1844 he had the court workshops moved back from Cairo to Hereke. Hand-knotted Hereke silk rugs are among the finest rugs in the world and are knotted at densities of up to 6 million knots per m². Thanks to the knotting technique, incidentally, the pattern is just as clearly visible on the back as it is on the front. At renowned art auction houses, antique Turkish rugs fetch top prices.

Typical motifs on Hereke rugs are flowers, branches and leaves, as well as birds, the tree of life and the so-called Mehrab or Mihrab pattern, a prayer niche shown together with oil lamps. Alongside traditional motifs and typically Ottoman or Turkish patterns, Hereke silk rugs are today also knotted with more modern designs suited to contemporary taste. Typical colours for Hereke silk rugs are a deep dark blue, a radiant red, a lively green, a luminous yellow and a range of natural tones in every shade.

Material

The silk pile of this Hereke in pure silk makes the colours of the pattern glow in ever-changing shades, depending on how the light falls. It turns this Hereke in pure silk into a real highlight and gives the room an atmosphere that is cosy and at the same time very elegant and refined. Silk is obtained by hand from the cocoons of the silkworm. Because the individual silk filaments are extremely long, very fine yarns can be spun that are light in weight yet still tear-resistant. The fine yarn allows smaller knots to be tied and therefore more delicate patterns to be created. This is why the finest rugs in the world are hand-knotted from pure silk.

With this Hereke in pure silk, even the foundation is made of pure silk. Because the weft and warp threads are made of this thin yet hard-wearing material, an especially fine knotting – and with it an especially fine pattern – becomes possible.

Condition

You are not the first to take a liking to this Hereke in pure silk. It had owners before you who valued and used it. It was knotted around 1980. It has been thoroughly cleaned and is in good, though only partially restored, condition. In places the pile of this piece is heavily worn. We have not fully restored this Hereke in pure silk because we feel it has a special charm just as it is. If you would like us to, we will of course gladly carry the restoration further for you. We can bring almost any rug back to near-perfect condition.