SPANISH RUG WITH WREATH-PATTERN 147 x 121 cm (4ft. 10in. x 4ft.) Spain, 17th century Published: " A foreshadowing of 21st century art" - Chris Alexander 1993, page 292. Condition: used, low pile, foundation partly visible, both ends incomplete Warp: wool, weft: wool, pile: wool.

To the untrained eye this small rug might at first glance simply look like a rug with a design inherited from an Ottoman period velvet design, the type that is typically found in silk and metal thread yastiks. However that would miss several of the more enigmatic qualities that attracted much deliberation about its date and origins by a previous owner, the equally enigmatic architect and collector Christopher Alexander. Published in his seminal book, A foreshadowing of 21st Century Art (Oxford University Press, 1993), the collector referred to this as "Carpet with Blue and Yellow Chevrons", thereby attracting more attention to the unusual mixture of 'strongly vegetal tracery in the field and spandrels and the bold floral geometric character of the chevrons in the border'. He traces the origins of the chevrons to 7th century silk textiles from north Africa and the floral forms to Seljuk architecture, while the medallion and its serrated surround relates broadly to large medallion Ushak carpets but more specifically to a Mamluk carpet in the textile Museum in Washington. All of the areas mentioned were under the cultural and sometime political control of the ottomans during the 17th-18th century when the rug was probably woven, however opinion as to its origin range from Egypt, Turkey through to Spain, the last of which we feel most confident about due to colour, materials and weave.