"Lotto" Carpet

Unknown

ca. 1600 · Wool (warp, weft, and pile); symmetrically knotted pile · Islamic Art

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.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1600

Medium

Wool (warp, weft, and pile); symmetrically knotted pile

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Purchase, The Seley Foundation Inc. and The Louis E. and Theresa S. Seley Foundation Inc. Gifts, 1978