Chinese Hereke in pure silk | 122 x 76 cm | Nr. 10307

Floral Chinese Hereke in pure silk, grey-beige with border

Origin	China
Dimensions	122 cm x 76 cm (= 0.93 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: pure silk Weft & Warp: pure silk
knots per m²2	810.000
Pile height	4mm
Year of manufacture	1990
Colour	Grey-beige, rust red
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

The pattern of this rug is inspired by that of classic Hereke rugs. This piece, however, was knotted in China. The Turkish town of Hereke is home to very precious silk rugs. The tradition was encouraged 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 with a density 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 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.

Pattern

The lavish floral motifs of this Hereke are elegant and full of variety. The graceful plant symbols, depicting blossoms, leaves and branches, are artfully intertwined.

The decorated surround (border) forms a wonderful contrast to the centre and shapes the transition at the edge of the rug.

This Hereke is adorned with the so-called Mehrab or Mihrab motif. Mehrab is the name for the Islamic prayer niche in mosques, which marks the qibla, the direction of prayer towards Mecca. Rugs with the Mehrab motif are traditionally used by Muslims for prayer and are therefore especially treasured.

The background of this Hereke is grey-beige. The border is worked in grey-beige and antique pink.

Material

The silk of this Hereke's pile makes the colours of the pattern shine in ever-changing shades, depending on how the light falls. It turns this Hereke into a real jewel and creates an atmosphere in the room that is cosy and at the same time very elegant and refined. Silk is obtained by hand from the cocoons of the silk moth. Because the individual silk filaments are extremely long, very fine yarns can be spun that are light in weight yet still tear-resistant. Fine yarn allows smaller knots to be tied and therefore finer patterns to be created. This is why the finest rugs in the world are hand-knotted from pure silk. In this Hereke, even the foundation is made of pure silk. The thin but hard-wearing material of the weft and warp threads permits a particularly fine knotting, and with it a particularly fine pattern.