Help please interpreting a date

[Frank Petruziello Member Find all posts View Profile Close Frank Petruziello]

Hello all, I recently purchased this Kazak prayer rug. Note the two date panels on either side of the niche. The first 2 Arabic numerals clearly show 13 but the elongated diamond next doesn’t make sense to me. I guess you could read it as 135 but that’s not a date. Or is it shorthand for 1300? My best guess so far is to read it as 1313 ignoring the diamonds as decoration. I have another similar rug where the date is split in that manner but without the diamonds. I would appreciate any thoughts on the matter.

thanks

Frank

[Frank Petruziello Member Find all posts View Profile Close Frank Petruziello]

Here is the other rug.

[Guest Close Guest]

Hi. I had read somewhere that '0' (zero), usually represented as '.' (a dot), is sometimes omitted entirely from the date. If that is the case here, the date could either be 1305AH or 1350AH. This assumes that the weaver was literate and did not copy a date from an older rug.

[Joe Lawrence Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Lawrence]

It possible the date is 1305. The (.) or zero appears it could be to the left of the 5.

[Joe Lawrence Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Lawrence]

Another possibility is it’s just 130 or “Iddah” a period of 4 months and 10 days for a wife to mourn the death of a husband.

[Frank Petruziello Member Find all posts View Profile Close Frank Petruziello]

Thanks Joe, both seem possible. I like the rug no matter the exact year.

Frank

[Chuck Wagner Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Chuck Wagner]

Frank,

All we can do is speculate. So I'd go with an implied zero as the fourth digit.

Regards
Chuck

[Frank Petruziello Member Find all posts View Profile Close Frank Petruziello]

Thanks Chuck, agree