Dear all,

I apologize for not having had the time to post my votes earlier but I had a lot of work. Here is "my" top ten choice, some choices being perhaps out of standards but they reflect my tastes.

Number 1: (picture in previous post)
I vote with Yon Bard for the Yomut Asmalyk (Tzareva 74). This rug was displayed at Palazzo Reale during last 9th ICOC. It's a wonderful and very impressive rug even for someone not Turkomaniac.

Number 2: (picture in previous post)
Yellow ground Anatolian rugs are striking and even if he didn't choose the rug I would want to. I vote with R. John Howe for this "type" of rugs.

Number 3: (picture in previous post)
I vote with Milton Cater for the salting prayer rug from the Topkapi Museum Collection, Istanbul inv N° 13/2024.

Number 4:

<img src="http://www.turkotek.com/salon_00028/Topten4.jpg" border="0">

Picture from : Caucasian Prayer Rugs - Ralph Kaffel - owned by James Burns of Seattle - dated AH 1221 (1806) - 0.74m x 1.30 m = 2Ƌ" x 4Ɖ"
Author's comments: This is the earliest known Kazak prayer carpet that can be precisely dated. The rug's unusually small size and its long, shiny pile - characteristic of the finest Kazaks - give it a jewel like appearance. Although evenly worn, it still possesses the lustre that only the finest and softest wool can
produce. The mottled field gives the impression of great depth, as does the abrashed light blue of the bottom compartment. Here the appearance is one of an endless night sky. The wonderfully archaic white ground border is evocative of Turkish and Central Asian antecedents.

Number 5:

<img src="http://www.turkotek.com/salon_00028/Topten5.jpg" border="0">

Splendeurs du Kilim - plate 24 - Yanni Petsopoulos and Belkis Balpinar - An Anatolian Kilim 1.82 m X 3.02 m
Translated author's comments:
This unique piece present a combination of colors which is very rare among Anatolian Kilims, (deep red - violet - marine blue - and almost light pink and very intense yellow), which makes a precise provenance very difficult. Wool and structure are surely Anatolian. It seems that this piece is perhaps from Banaz, between Ushak and Afyon. (West Anatolia).

Number 6:

<img src="http://www.turkotek.com/salon_00028/Topten6.jpg" border="0">

Oriental Rugs from Atlantic Collections - 8th ICOC - plate 43 -
Circa 1850 - Western Anatolia - 2Ɗ" x 3ƌ"
Author's comments: First impressions suggest that a coupled-column prayer rug was the inspiration for this small rug, with three floating panels arranged on the white ground. Yet, the shape of the mihrab arch, unusual in Turkish prayer rug design, in the context of these three elements may lead in a different direction. The well known white ground saph in the Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul and a red ground single niche rug in the Alexander Collection share a design system and family ornaments which relate to the present rug.
In the earlier examples, bulbous forms seen here are rendered as mosque lamps suspended from the arch with its squared shoulders (Alexander 126-7). The Alexander rug shows a single vertical line connecting the central mosque lamp, as is also seen in this piece.

Number 7:

<img src="http://www.turkotek.com/salon_00028/Topten7.jpg" border="0">

Hali 67 - page 79 - from the exhibition "100 KILIMS: Masterpieces from Anatolia - at the Völkerkundemuseum in Munich - October 1991 March 1992" East Anatolian kilim - Kars region - before 1800 - 1.45m x 2.41M (4ཇ"x7ཇ")
Johannes Wolff comments: A fine colourful example of a controversial design type - "Ottoman carnations or Neolithic master of animals"?

Number 8:

<img src="http://www.turkotek.com/salon_00028/Topten8.jpg" border="0">

This is an exceptional Suzani from the VOK collection - plate 40 - South Uzbekistan.
Comments of the author: Exceptionally large "bodom" motifs with leaf-like growths are characteristic features of embroideries from South Uzbekistan, as well as smaller "bodom" motifs with longitudinal instead of transverse strips. The use of "kanda xajol" stitching suggest Sahrisabz as place of origin. The powerful, almost brutal, "expressionistic" coloring of this embroidery leaves a strong impression.

Number 9:

<img src="http://www.turkotek.com/salon_00028/Topten9.jpg" border="0">

China. For this area my choice is a charming silk Kesi fragment from the 16th century or earlier. Ming period. Picture from Sovrani Tappeti a catalog of the rugs displayed at Palazzo
Reale during last 9th ICOC.
Comments of the author: "This little fragment is a part of a Kesi, a piece made in tapestry technique. It tell us a story: for a special occasion, attendants or courtiers arrive in a procession from the left and the right carrying gifts on their outstretched arms. The other part of the background shows stylized lotus flowers while , at the bottom, there are two abstract dragons with a ball or a pearl between them."

Number 10:

<img src="http://www.turkotek.com/salon_00028/Topten10.jpg" border="0">

One South Caucasian Lenkoran rug

Cordially,

Daniel Deschuyteneer