Oushak

An Afghan Oushak rug, knotted by hand with hand-carded, hand-spun, vegetable-dyed wool, woven by master weavers in northern Afghanistan.

Inspired by the great weaving tradition of Uşak in western Anatolia, an important Ottoman carpet center by the sixteenth century, where Turkish-speaking village and workshop weavers developed broad, powerful medallion and floral designs. Historic Oushak carpets blended local Anatolian weaving with Persian and Safavid decorative influences, later becoming highly prized in Europe and appearing frequently in Renaissance and post-Renaissance interior and portrait paintings. By the late nineteenth century, the tradition was revived for European and American markets with larger-scale, more open floral drawing and softer color, a development that strongly influenced the modern Oushak style.