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'Star Ushak' Carpet

late 15th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 459
This fresh‑colored carpet is one of the earliest, largest, and best-preserved examples of its type. Woven in the Ushak region of western Turkey, "Star Ushak" carpets were made for regional consumption and for export throughout Europe. A similar carpet is depicted under the throne of the Venetian doge in a painting by Paris Bordone dating to 1534, and another is seen under the feet of Henry VIII in a sixteenth-century portrait of that ruler. Their association in European painting with royalty and sanctity underscores the status these carpets enjoyed as luxury trade goods.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: 'Star Ushak' Carpet
  • Date: late 15th century
  • Geography: Attributed to Turkey
  • Medium: Wool (warp, weft, and pile); symmetrically knotted pile
  • Dimensions: L.169 1/2 in. (430.5 cm)
    W. 91 1/2 in. (232.4 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles-Rugs
  • Credit Line: Gift of Joseph V. McMullan, 1958
  • Object Number: 58.63
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

More Artwork

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'Lotto' Carpet, Wool (warp, weft and pile); symmetrically knotted pile
'Lotto' Carpet
16th century
The Emperor's Carpet, Silk (warp and weft), wool (pile); asymmetrically knotted pile
The Emperor's Carpet
second half 16th century
'Holbein' Carpet, Wool; symmetrically (?) knotted pile
'Holbein' Carpet
15th–16th century
Textile with Large Chintamani Design, Silk, metal wrapped thread; lampas (kemha)
Textile with Large Chintamani Design
16th century
Textile Fragment, Silk, metal wrapped thread; lampas (kemha)
Textile Fragment
mid-16th century

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