Beautiful rug with Rub el Hizb medallion

[Pierre Galafassi]

Hi all,

The simplicity of its motifs has made this small square rug (*) one of my favorites among Renaissance studio props. A single 8-branches « Rub el Hizb» star hovering over a beautiful red background and a forceful & original border. No «horror vacui» here! Pity that della Francesca did not show a little bit more of it.

FIG 1 & 2



P. della Francesca. Virgin and Child with Federigo de Montefeltro. 1472. Brera. Milano.

The knot density seems quite high despite the simple pattern. The «Rub el Hizb» motif makes an Islamic origin of the rug highly likely. The analogy with the square nineteenth-century Moroccan flag below is quite interesting.
FIG 3.


(*) The picture definition does not allow to be sure that this is indeed a rug, rather than another type of textile, a velvet for example. However, it is generally assumed to be a rug in the literature.

Regards
Pierre