Talk at ORTS, London, 23rd October 2013

Bellini fragment, 16th cent.

 

Tracing the Ottoman Rugs in Transylvania

Transylvania continues to be the repository of the richest and best-preserved group of small format Turkish rugs outside the Islamic world: almost four hundred examples (including fragments) attributable to the golden period of Ottoman weaving.

We will discuss how and from where the rugs arrived and why they entered the patrimony of the Protestant Churches and led to the ‘Transylvanian miracle’.

Then we will visit some Church collections with an eye to the best examples, ranging from the late 15th to early 17th centuries: Ushaks, Holbeins, Lottos, Selendis and a wealth of Transylvanian rugs.

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Swedenborg Hall,   20/21 Bloomsbury Way, London  WC1A  2TH

Entrance round the corner in Barter Street.

Doors open from 6.0pm.  Drinks and snacks are served.