Ghirlandaio Bergama
183 x 162 cm (6' x 5' 4")
Turkey, mid 18th century
Condition: good according to age, low pile in places, lower right corner slightly restored, several small repairs, selvages rebound, age related signs of use
Warp: wool, weft: wool, pile: wool

This remarkable rug was made in the Bergama region of West Anatolia in the middle third of the 18th century and takes its name from depictions of rugs with similar medallions by the 15th-century Florentine artist Domenico Ghirlandaio, such as Madonna enthroned with Child and Saints (1480–85) now in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence.
A central Anatolian carpet in the Museum of Islamic art in Qatar, and once in the Orient Stars Collection, shows an early rendering of this design and is carbon-dated to the dates of the artist. Together with this carpet it attests to the long tradition associated with the design in Anatolia. While there are a few examples with single medallions, including several in the Museum of Metropolitan of Art in New York, examples with two medallions are harder to find; the closest analogy was published in Brüggemann and Böhmer (Munich 1983, pl. 52).
It is interesting to note in this example that, while the weave and small stars in the field are very characteristic of Bergama weavings, the major border is often associated with the prayer rugs of Ladik, which is just to the north of Konya in central Anatolia. This may suggest that this rug might have made to the west of Bergama.