Unknown Maker, Turkish

Rugs were commonly part of late-19th-century interior decoration. This Turkish example was made in the vicinity of the town of Kula for a foreign market. Featuring Ottoman-style carnation and tulip motifs mixed with Persian-style vases and a central medallion arrangement, it is already a composite of cultural traditions. In the European or American home, it would have contributed a visual complexity and worldliness to the overall decorative scheme.