A Lotto carpet is a hand-knotted, patterned Turkish carpet that was produced primarily during the 16th and 17th centuries along the Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey, although it was also copied in various parts of Europe. It is characterized by a lacy

arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...

, usually in yellow on a red ground, often with blue details. The name "Lotto carpet" refers to the inclusion of carpets with this pattern in paintings by the 16th-century Venetian painter

Lorenzo Lotto Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480 – 1556/57) was an Italian painter, draughtsman, and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school, though much of his career was spent in other north Italian cities. He painted mainly altarpieces, religiou ...

, although they appear in many earlier

Oriental carpets in Renaissance painting Carpets of Middle-Eastern origin, either from Anatolia, Persia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Levant, the Mamluk state of Egypt or Northern Africa, were used as decorative features in Western European paintings from the 14th century onwards. Mo ...

Overview

Lotto carpets used to be known as "Small-pattern Holbein Type II" by Western scholars, but Holbein never painted one, unlike Lorenzo Lotto who did so several times (although he was not the first artist to do so). Lotto is also documented as owning a large carpet, though its pattern is unknown. Though they look very different from Holbein Type I carpets, they are a development of the type, where the edges of the motifs take off in rigid

s somewhat suggesting foliage, and terminating in branched

palmette The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree. It has a far-reaching history, originating in ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art o ...

s. The type was common and long-lasting, and is also known as " Arabesque Ushak". Lotto carpets are also depicted in paintings by Murillo and Zurbarán in the 17th century, and Dutch paintings until the 1660s and sometimes later. Ellis distinguishes three principle design groups for Lotto carpets: the

Anatolian Anatolian or anatolica may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the region Anatolia * Anatolians, ancient Indo-European peoples who spoke the Anatolian languages * Anatolian High School, a type of Turkish educational institution * Anatol ...

-style,

Kilim A kilim ( az, Kilim کیلیم; tr, Kilim; tm, Kilim; fa, گلیم ''Gilīm'') is a flat tapestry- woven carpet or rug traditionally produced in countries of the former Persian Empire, including Iran, the Balkans and the Turkic countries. Ki ...

-style, and ornamental style. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the designs for Lotto carpets were copied in Italy, Spain, the European part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

and in England, and many modern copies have also been produced. File:Sebastiano del Piombo Cardinal Bandinello Sauli 1516.jpg,

Sebastiano del Piombo Sebastiano del Piombo (; c. 1485 – 21 June 1547) was an Italian painter of the High Renaissance and early Mannerist periods famous as the only major artist of the period to combine the colouring of the Venetian school in which he was trained ...

's ''Cardinal Bandinello Sauli'', with a Lotto carpet design, 1516 File:Lotto Carpet Usak 17th century.jpg, Lotto Carpet,

Uşak Uşak (; el, Ουσάκειον, Ousakeion) is a city in the interior part of the Aegean Region of Turkey. The city has a population of 500,000 (2016 census) and is the capital of Uşak Province. Uşak city is situated at a distance of from İz ...

, 17th century.

Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum The Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum ( tr, ) is a museum located in Sultanahmet Square in Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. Constructed in 1524, the building was formerly the palace of Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha, who was the second grand vizier to S ...

File:Lotto rug 17th century.jpg, Lotto rug, first half 17th century, offered at auction 2018 File:Western Anatolian knotted woll carpet with 'Lotto' patern, 16th century, Saint Louis Art Museum.jpg, Western

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

knotted wool ‘Lotto carpet’, 16th century,

Saint Louis Art Museum The Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) is one of the principal U.S. art museums, with paintings, sculptures, cultural objects, and ancient masterpieces from all corners of the world. Its three-story building stands in Forest Park in St. Louis, ...

File:Lotto Carpet 21st Century Reinterpretation.jpg, Lotto Carpet, 21st Century Reinterpretation by Ararat Rugs

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Overview

See also

Notes

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Further reading