"Lotto" Carpet
Carpets displaying this striking design of stylized vegetal arabesques in yellow on a red background are often called "Lottos," after a famous altarpiece by the Italian Renaissance painter Lorenzo Lotto that depicts a similar textile. The number of examples held in European collections and depicted in paintings suggests that the carpets were popular in Europe. They were probably woven in several different places and over an extended period of time. While the earliest examples with this pattern likely date from before 1500, the design remained popular for hundreds of years, through the late eighteenth century.
Artwork Details
- Title: "Lotto" Carpet
- Date: ca. 1600
- Geography: Attributed to Turkey
- Medium: Wool (warp, weft, and pile); symmetrically knotted pile
- Dimensions: Rug: H. 121 1/4 in. (308 cm)
W. 69 1/4 in. (175.9 cm)
W. of top of rug: 68 3/4 in. (174.6 cm) - Classification: Textiles-Rugs
- Credit Line: Purchase, The Seley Foundation Inc. and The Louis E. and Theresa S. Seley Foundation Inc. Gifts, 1978
- Object Number: 1978.24
- Curatorial Department: Islamic Art
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16th century
14th century
16th–17th century
first half 17th century
15th–16th century
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