The story of the Persian Safavid Dynasty and the rise of the Ottoman Turks, to become great empires, has many parallels. Prior to the rise of these great dynasties, the area within the middle east was occupied mainly by tribal cultures fighting over control of grazing lands. In 1520, Suleiman I – AKA “Suleiman the Magnificent”, became the tenth and longest reigning Ottoman ruler. He became known as “The Lawgiver Suleiman” or “Suleiman the Magnificent.” Under his rule, the Ottoman Empire would grow to encompass 25 million people and a vast territory.
Under Suleiman, the Ottoman Empire would enter into its Golden Age of art and cultural development. This iconic Ottoman ruler heavily supported patronage of the arts. He established Ehl-i Hiref, which translates “Community of the Craftsmen.” This community of craftsmen was administered from the Imperial seat at Topkapi Palace. This community established a formal apprenticeship program where artisans would advance in their rank and were paid quarterly annual installments that were commensurate with their level of skills. Documents from 1526 list 40 different societies with over 600 artisans as members. It included some of the most talented artists of the court. Of course, Ottoman carpet weavers were listed among them.
The Ottoman rug and textile weavers of this community were assigned the task of creating magnificently beautiful rugs for the royal courts of the Ottoman rulers. It may be noted that the Ottoman Court is noted for its strict adherence to Islam. It is not surprising that we begin to see the tiled geometric and larger motifs that were found in architecture and other Islamic art of the time.
The Oriental carpets were meant to show off the wealth of the Ottoman rulers. They were diplomatic gifts and were used to adorn state-sponsored mosques and buildings.
Miniature paintings of the time showed these Ottoman carpets underneath massive outdoor tents at formal state functions. These paintings indicate that some epic carpets of massive scale were produced. They are often shown layered one on top of another. The designs were standardized and dictated to the community artisans. The artisans were not the designers, rather, the court itself dictated motifs that were to be used throughout the community artisans. These standardized, state-sponsored and “approved” design motifs found their way into bookbinding, miniature painting, pottery, textiles and architecture. The artisans themselves had little artistic freedom and were held to strict standards. There are even undocumented allusions in writings of the time, that the Ottoman ruler himself, Suleiman, created some of these designs.
Although one can find resemblances to tribal designs and motifs used by Anatolian tribes, the court fervently denied these influences. They take credit for the introduction of the “saz” style floral with long, curvy leaves throughout the design. They used native flowers, such as roses, hyacinths, and tulips heavily.
The Chintamani pattern, sometimes called “tiger stripes” is another design that arose at this time. This particular design is associated with the Ottoman court, and they considered it much in the same way we associate a certain brand with a company.
The Ottoman Court promoted strict adherence to the Muslim religion, which led to the development and introduction of the mihrab, or prayer rug, design.
Another remarkable aspect, of the carpets of the courts of Suleiman the Magnificent, is their construction methods. The Ottoman court carpets use S-spun wool, rather than Z-spun wool as found in Persia and other parts of the world. S-spun wool are attributed to the carpets of ancient Egypt. They require a different spinning technique than Z-spun wool. When determining whether an early carpet is of Turkish or Persian origin, this is often a deciding factor.
Another structural difference is the use of the Ghiordes (or symmetrical rug knot), rather than the Senneh (or asymmetrical knot) that is typically found in Persia and throughout Asia. The Ghiordes knot does not allow for the fine curves found in Persian carpets, and it is more suited to the geometric designs of the Ottomans. However, it is also a bit stronger because it wraps around two warp threads instead of one.