Turkey "Bellini" Carpets

Ottoman prayer (or tomb) rugs also reached Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Two different Bellinis represented them; Gentile was the first to paint one in The Virgin and Child Enthroned, c. 1475-85 (National Gallery, London), but it is probably Giovanni's The Doge Loredan and Four Advisors, dated 1507 (Bode Museum, Berlin) that gave rise to the designation. These small carpets are characterized by the presence of a large arch that fills the central field believed to symbolize both the doorway to paradise and the mihrab, the mosque niche indicating the orientation of prayer toward Mecca. One or more lamps often hang from the apex of the arch, and star-shaped medallions often fill the centre or corners. These elements have been interpreted as symbols of Divine Light, as described in the 'Light Verse' (Koran 24:35). At the bottom, the innermost guard stripe enters the arch to form a tall niche with an octagonal finial at the top, and hence this shape which looks like a keyhole (or re-entrant octagonal niche) has also given rise to the designations, 'keyhole' or 're-entrant' for this group of carpets.

Although more than 30 depictions of these rugs have been recorded so far in European paintings dating from the end of the fifteenth to the beginning of the seventeenth century, no examples have been identified in Portuguese art, with the possible exception of a fresco painting of the Annunciation from the late sixteenth century (Antigo Convento das Maltezas, Estremoz). These carpets were, however, imported into Portugal in substantial numbers, and the vast majority of the carpets listed in Infanta Maria Manuel's dowry of 1522 are of this type. All of the seven rugs have red fields with green or blue borders, often with "white knots" or interlaced designs, and are relatively small in scale, as appropriate for individual prayer. They are also distinguished by the presence of an "arch", "doorway" or "steeple" in the centre - all very apt descriptions of a mihrab of curved or angular shape - and in three of the carpets, the presence of an object hanging from the arch (described as a "jug" or "jar") suggests the inclusion of a mosque lamp in the design, while the occurrence of interlaced motifs, flowers and a wheel in the centre would appear to indicate the presence of star medallions, as seen in existing 'Bellini' carpets and representations of them in Italian paintings.

While their presence on the Portuguese scene and in the royal House of Avis-Beja (r. 1495-1580) more than 25 years after King Manuel I expelled the Muslims in 1496 might seem paradoxical, it is quite clear that their association with Islam was not of particular concern to the Portuguese court or local nobility. Three Turkish (Xio) carpets with Qur'anic inscriptions are also recorded in the inventory of the 5th Duke of Bragança, D. Teodósio I (d. 1563), and a large Indian congregational mosque carpet was used and preserved in an Évora convent until 1903 (Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon).

Bibliography:
HALLETT, Jessica, "Tapetes orientais e ocidentais: intercâmbios peninsulares no século XVI", in O Largo Tempo do Renascimento: Arte, Propaganda e Poder, Vítor Serrão (ed.), Lisboa: Caleidoscópio, 2008, pp. 225-257. HALLETT, Jessica and PEREIRA, Teresa Pacheco (eds.), The Oriental Carpet in Portugal, carpets and paintings, 15th to 18th centuries, Lisbon, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga/ Instituto dos Museus e da Conservação, exhibition catalogue, 2007. HALLETT, Jessica, "From Floor to Wall: An oriental carpet in a Portuguese mural painting of The Annunciation", in Out of the Stream: Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Mural Painting, Luís Urbano Afonso e Vítor Serrão (eds.), Newcastle, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2007, pp. 141-165. MILLS, John, "Near Eastern Carpets in Italian Paintings", Oriental Carpet and Textile Studies, vol. 2, 1986, pp. 109-121. MILLS, John, "Carpets in Paintings: The 'Bellini', 'Keyhole', or 'Re-entrant' Rugs", Hali, 58, 1991, pp. 86-103, 127-28.

Author: Jessica Hallett