Kuba rug

While decidedly Caucasian in style, color, and weave, both the field design and border of this iconic Kuba rug may be traced back to classical prototypes of the 16th century and before. Against a medium-blue ground an all-over pattern of stylized geometric vegetal scroll is drawn in ivory. This design may ultimately be traced back to 16th century Ottoman court carpets woven in western Anatolia and described by contemprary literature as the so-called ‘Lotto design’, a designation made due to the prevalence of such rugs in the work of the Italian painter Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1557). Likewise, the stylized ‘kufic’ border type used in this piece maybe traced back to Anatolian carpets of at least the 15th century and may even be seen in several Persian carpets dated to the 13th century. The soft palette of this piece, however, is classically Kuba as is the inner minor border composed of colorful eight-pointed geometric elements.