Ladik Prayer Rug (seccade)

The deep colors and pristine condition of this Islamic prayer rug are remarkable. Its design imitates a mosque’s mihrab, or prayer niche. The area above the three-pointed arch is filled with jagged leaves, rosettes, and blossoms. The panel above it includes stylized tulips, a flower native to Asia. Here the tulips, a common characteristic of rugs woven in Ladik, also appear along the border of the rug where they are set at an angle between two hooked leaves which alternate with rosettes. The village of Ladik in central Anatolia (now Turkey) produced rugs in the 18th and 19th centuries featuring regional motifs. Prayer rugs like this one were a Ladik specialty, and early examples were often dated. As a result, scholars could establish an approximate chronology of styles as they developed into the 20th century. Many of the Ladik prayer rugs found in mosques throughout Turkey were probably votive gifts given in the year recorded on the rug.