Yuruk long rug

This Kurdish rug from southeast Anatolia combines soft lustrous wool with bold geometric drawing and vivid natural color. Until recently, this weaving group was refereed to as ‘Yoruk,’ meaning ‘wanderer’ or ‘nomad’ in Turkish, but more recent evidence demonstrates that the group is the work of Kurdish villagers. The double niche field of this piece is unusual, but not unprecedented, for this group. The indigo field is paired with a complimentary madder-derived terra cotta orange border. Groupings of four angular ‘s’ shaped motifs in the border form squares with cruciforms, or ‘ashiks,’ rendered from negative space. The two large hexagonal forms are derived from neighboring central Anatolian weaving traditions, while the central elongated element traced in latch-hook ornament may be a stylized rendering of a mosque lamp derived from Turkish prayer rugs.