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Is it a Hereke?
Here my newest flea market find....silk on silk, 63x93 cm. I guess it is a Hereke, 2-3 Mio knots per m2. Am I right?
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Wow! Outstanding find and a beautiful piece! I’ve had good luck in the Zurich flea markets. It’s amazing what can be found.Joe Lawrence -
Congratulations! Seems quite possible that it is a Hereke, but it may perhaps also be, for example, a Quom, Isfahan, Kashmir or a Chinese Hereke. There is usually, although not always, the typical Hereke signature in the border on a Turkish Hereke, which I cannot find on your rug. Whatever it is, it is very beautiful and the very high knot density certainly makes it a rare find! To me it looks like your carpet is approx. 20x20, i.e. 4 million knots per m2! Most Turkish Herekes are 8x8, 9x9, or 10x10, although there have been made some Herekes with up to 50x50 knot density:
https://www.hanhali.com/the-world-of...-world--record
https://sn-home.de/artikel.php?recor...name=Allgemein
Last edited by Erik Persson; 01-20-2024, 10:39 PM.Comment
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Hi Marc,
I don't think this is a Hereke rug; the closeups of the back show a very fine weave but with an uneven manner of knotting and a rough surface. It's rare to find any rug from Qom (or Kashan) with such a knot density and they too, have a smoother look to the back than what we see here. I think Erik suggests two good options, China or Kashmir. My own experience with Kashmiri silk rugs is that they have a lower knot density so I would guess this piece is from China.
Regards
ChuckComment
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Speaking of Chinese Herekes, I, on a Danish net auction some years ago, bought a very tightly knot "Hereke" that I believe to be a Chinese one.
Here is the description by the reputable Danish auction house:
"An Oriental full silk rug in Turkish Hereke style. Extreme quality(the finest quality you can obtain)
Extreme quality: An Oriental full silk rug in Turkish Hereke style. Extreme quality(the finest quality you can obtain), c. 40×40 kn. pr. cm2 = 16.000.000 pr. sqm. 21st century. 40×32 cm."
The price was in no way extreme though. The rug came with a certificate of origin that showed it to have been purchased in Turkey by its original Danish owner, being a "Hereke 37x37" and "a genuine handmade carpet that was crafted with the traditional quality of DETAY HALICILIK worldwide looms". I take it that "worldwide" rather than "Turkish" makes it highly likely that it has been made in China (or Kashmir/India?). Here are some pictures:
Last edited by Erik Persson; 01-22-2024, 04:59 PM.Comment
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Hi Erik
I notice that the auction house doesn't call it Hereke, but Hereke style. I interpret that to mean that they don't think it was woven in Hereke, but most likely in China or Pakistan.
Steve PriceComment
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Yes, Steve, that was my guess too. It is well-known that a large portion of the Herekes sold to tourists in Turkey are in fact Chinese in origin. There is even a "Hereke Industrial Zone" in China where many of these "Hereke" rugs are made. Although not being the real McCoy, some of the Chinese Herekes are of very fine quality and quite likeable, I think.Comment
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Hi all,
When living in the Persian Gulf region, I encountered several of the Chinese Hereke knock-offs. A real silk Hereke has a quite substantial foundation and as a result, it feels like the weight is in the back rather than the front of the rug; i.e. given the short pile, the heft of the rug feels substantial. The Chinese rugs at that time (1990's to early 2000's) were thin, and quite light; not substantial like a Hereke. They had an almost paper-like feel; they would permanently crease if folded tightly. I imagine this was because they were woven so finely that the foundation yarns were too thin( out of necessity) to survive being folded. The knot density was far higher than anything made in Turkey, and it was very difficult to believe that adult fingers were involved in the weaving.
Regards
ChuckComment
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Very interesting observations - thank you, Chuck! To me it appears as an incredible feat to create these high-density rugs, using a loupe and probably various other tools. How can it be done at all? In the Wikipedia article on knot density there is a link to an auctioneer's page about a 40x40 Özipek that was sold for a very high price and according to the description had a production time of circa 15 years! Could this really be true?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knot_density
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item...ld-silk-herekeComment
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