Antique Hereke | 171 x 121 cm | Nr. Z-3116

Antique Hereke

Delivery time	2 days
Origin	Turkey
Dimensions	171 cm x 121 cm (= 2.07 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes)
knots	350.000
Condition	pre-owned, but in very good condition (cleaned & 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.

This antique Hereke is a collector's piece. It is around 106 years old, which alone makes it a truly special piece. Antique rugs like this Antique Hereke are as sought after as ever and fetch top prices at renowned auction houses.

Material

The technique used to make the materials for the pile of this Antique Hereke is more than 200 years old. The wool was dyed with natural dyes and spun by hand. Dyeing with natural or plant dyes is more involved, more expensive and more time-consuming than dyeing with chemical colours. For a luminous red, for example, you need around one kilo of ground madder root as dyestuff per kilo of wool. For a strong yellow that is not too pale, it even takes two kilograms of weld dye per kilo of wool. Spinning the wool is just as time-consuming and labour-intensive. And fewer and fewer people still master the craft of spinning wool by hand.

But the effort is worth it: dyeing with natural colours allows the high-quality wool to keep its natural oil content. Wool that has been dyed with natural colours and spun by hand creates fascinating, shimmering patterns. The charm of hand-spun wool, with its slight irregularities and natural shades, comes into its own as a contrast in modern interiors, but equally in rooms furnished in a more traditional or country style.

The weft and warp threads of this Antique Hereke are made of cotton. This versatile material is tear-resistant and flexible, which makes it particularly well suited to a hard-wearing foundation.

Condition

You are not the first to take a liking to this Antique Hereke. It has had owners before you who valued and used it. The edges are partly damaged. The pile is evenly worn. It was knotted around 106. We have cleaned it thoroughly and restored it with care. That is why – despite its age – it is in very good condition.