Lotto carpet
ALotto carpetis a hand-knotted, patterned Turkish carpet that was produced primarily during the 16th and 17th centuries along theAegean coastofAnatolia, Turkey,although it was also copied in various parts of Europe. It is characterized by a lacyarabesque,usually in yellow on a red ground, often with blue details. The name "Lotto carpet" refers to the inclusion of carpets with this pattern in paintings by the 16th-century Venetian painterLorenzo Lotto,although they appear in many earlierOriental carpets in Renaissance painting.
Overview
[edit]Lotto carpets used to be known as "Small-patternHolbein Type II"by Western scholars, but Holbein never painted one, unlike Lorenzo Lotto who did so several times (although he was not the first artist to do so). Lotto is also documented as owning a large carpet, though its pattern is unknown. Though they look very different from Holbein Type I carpets, they are a development of the type, where the edges of the motifs take off in rigidarabesquessomewhat suggesting foliage, and terminating in branchedpalmettes.The type was common and long-lasting, and is also known as "Arabesque Ushak".[1][2][3]Lotto carpets are also depicted in paintings byMurillo,Willem KeyandZurbaránin the 17th century, and Dutch paintings until the 1660s and sometimes later.[4]
Ellis distinguishes three principle design groups for Lotto carpets: theAnatolian-style,Kilim-style, and ornamental style.[5]
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the designs for Lotto carpets were copied in Italy, Spain, the European part of theOttoman Empireand in England, and many modern copies have also been produced.[3]
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WesternAnatoliaknotted wool ‘Lotto carpet’, 16th century,Saint Louis Art Museum -
Lotto rug, first half 17th century, offered at auction 2018 -
The Alms of St Anthony,oil on wood painting byLorenzo Lotto,showing a Lotto carpet, 1542
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^Cambell 2006,p. 189.
- ^"Carpets of the Ottoman Period: Type II Holbein or" Lotto "Carpets".Old Ottoman carpets.Archivedfrom the original on 1 January 2009.Retrieved27 April2009.
- ^abKing & Sylvester 1983,pp. 16, 67–70.
- ^King & Sylvester 1983,p. 20.
- ^Ellis, Charles Grant (1975).The "Lotto" pattern as a fashion in carpets(1st ed.). Hamburg: Hauswedell. pp. 19–31.
References
[edit]
- Cambell, Gordon, ed. (2006).The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts.Vol. 1, Aalto to Kyoto Pottery. Oxford University Press.ISBN9780195189483.
- King, Donald;Sylvester, David,eds. (1983).The Eastern Carpet in the Western World, From the 15th to the 17th century.London:Arts Council of Great Britain.ISBN0-7287-0362-9.
Further reading
[edit]- Brown, David Alan; Humfrey, Peter; Lucco, Mauro (1997).Lorenzo Lotto: Rediscovered Master of the Renaissance.New Haven: Yale University Press.
- Mack, Rosamond E. (2002).Bazaar to Piazza: Islamic Trade and Italian Art, 1300-1600.Los Angeles: University of California Press.