Considerable Very Long Teal Ushak Turkish Runner. 

Size: 98 x 31 in. 

#8050 . 

Uşak carpets (also known as Ushak or Oushak carpets and rugs) are Turkish carpets that use a particular family of designs, called by convention after the city of Uşak, Turkey. They are a distinct part of the larger Anatolian tradition, a major center of rug production from the early days of the Ottoman Empire into the early 20th Century. Historically Ushaks were classified as “Anatolian Rugs,” and today scholars and collectors have begun to classify and distinguish them for their own specific style. The level of international popularity attained by Uşak’s carpets starting in the 20th Century became so great that the word “Ushak” is considered an English word of Turkic origin. In the European markets the earlier types of Turkish rugs are now often called “Lotto carpets” and “Holbein carpets” to distinguish them from the newer “star” patterns. The terms make reference to their depiction in minute detail in paintings by Lorenzo Lotto and Hans Holbein the Younger, in which they are often placed in a way to brighten the background and suggest status. Ushak rugs utilize a wide variety of dyes, particularly cinnamons, terracotta tints, gold, blues, greens, ivory, saffron, and grays. The late 19th Century saw the rejuvenation of Oriental rug production in the region, with two major shifts in design: floral patterns in the Persian tradition were incorporated into design and room size, and decorative carpets were woven as European standards demanded rather than according to a traditional size and shape. This led to the appearance of runners, much longer and thinner works that could fit in a hallway, rather than simply the center of a room, as well as a tendency towards light colors to brighten the small space, often in teal or sky blue. Today Ushak rugs, runners, and mats are sought around the world, and have developed a particularly strong market in the United States, Japan, and other areas where length and thinness of a rug is more important than overall width to fit into smaller spaces.