"Lotto" rug fragment, XVI century, Western Turkey, Ushak Region, Ottoman Empire.

Sotheby's
David Sylvester: The Private Collection
London | 26 Feb 2002, 02:30 PM | L02959
LOT 91
AN USHAK 'LOTTO' CARPET FRAGMENT, WEST ANATOLIA, SECOND HALF
16TH CENTURY, 106 BY...
ESTIMATE 400-600 GBP
Lot Sold: 2,040 GBP

This very attractive fragment is recognisable as part of the field design of an 'arabesque' or 'Lotto' Ushak. The term 'Lotto' derives from the Venetian painter Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556), who often depicted these carpets in his paintings. It has the characteristic golden yellow arabesque design outlined in charcoal with touches of indigo and light blue set against a rich madder field. This piece can also be classified further in terms of its design, as the fragment of an 'Anatolian Lotto'according to Charles Grant Ellis. For a full discussion of this division according to design please see Ellis, Charles Grant, The 'Lotto' Pattern as a Fashion in Carpets, Hamburg, 1975.

For related examples dating to the 16th century see Spuhler, F., Islamic Carpets and Textiles in The Keir Collection, London, 1978, pp 44-45, Nos. 16, 18 and 19.