Hereke Rug | © Rugman

Origin of Hereke Rugs 1

Hereke is a city in northwestern Anatolia (Turkey) located on the eastern shore of the Sea of Marmara, approximately twenty-five miles (40 km) from Istanbul. During the mid-nineteenth century, at the height of the Industrial Revolution in Anatolia, Hereke, then still a village, was chosen as the site for a new silk manufactory. The location was ideal because of its natural waterways.

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Hereke, Turkey | © Rugman

History of Hereke Rugs

Hereke had a population of Armenians who were experienced in weaving rugs of a high grade quality. Ottoman Sultan Abdulmecid I (r. 1839-1861) recognized the talents of these master weavers and endorsed Hereke as a weaving center for rugs and carpets commissioned solely for the Ottoman Empire. These rugs were mostly ordered by the Ottoman court for their personal use in palaces and as gifts to foreign ambassadors and high-ranking officials.

Hereke rugs are known in the market from the second quarter of the nineteenth century. Hereke weavers began to use the seventeenth-century Safavid Carpets design seen in Polonaise Carpets, the technique of which originated in the cities of Isfahan and Kashan in central Persia. Under the guidance of Ottoman patrons, Hereke expanded to weave traditional Safavid designs, which were previously made by Persian artisans for the Ottoman royal court in the capital of Istanbul during the sixteenth century.

During the reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II (r. 1876-1909), Hereke workshops expanded weaving operations to meet the demand of the aristocracy and government officials. In the 1880s the royal family commissioned French designs like those woven at Savonnerie Carpets and Aubusson Carpets, which were fashionable in Europe at the time. During this period a school of fine art in Istanbul employed Hereke weavers. This environment helped to introduce new designs and tonalities to the weavers. After the carpets were completed, they were then shipped to the royal court for selection by the royal family and officials. The unwanted carpets and rugs were sold in the Istanbul market.

In the Istanbul suburb of Kum Icapi, some of the great artisans followed in the footsteps of Hereke weavers. Master weavers such as Garabed Apelian, Hagop Kapoudjian, Tamishjian, Toussounian, Zareh Penyamine, and others made some of the greatest designs in the finest Hereke quality. These extraordinary works of art are known as Kum Kapi Hereke in the market.

Today the Hereke weaving industry continues to produce rugs and carpets of the finest quality and design.

Hereke wool pile rug formats range from small mats to rugs of approximately six feet by four feet; room-size to palace dimensions are also made. Silk pieces are generally small, not exceeding six feet by four feet. The largest Hereke carpet, measuring approximately sixty-five feet by fifty feet, was commissioned by Sultan Abdulhamid II in the late nineteenth century.

Characteristics of Hereke Rugs

The superior quality of Hereke weavings is among the best ever known in the handmade carpet industry. Carpets and rugs woven in Hereke are a true art form and are famous throughout the world. The designs, quality, and technique are some of the finest, and the rugs are considered art investments.

  • Material and Knots

All Hereke rugs are woven in a wool pile. Later rugs and carpets have a silk foundation and a silk pile, or a cotton foundation and a wool pile. The Persian (asymmetric) knot is used.

Polonaise rugs were woven with a silk foundation and a silk pile with details brocaded in gold and silver metallic thread.

Savonnerie Carpets and Aubusson Carpets were made with a silk foundation and a silk pile.

Hereke cotton-foundation wool pile weavings are generally made from good to fine in grade quality. Silk Hereke rugs are only extremely fine in grade quality. Some Hereke master weavers have made high-quality rugs using up to one thousand knots per square inch.

By the early twentieth century some cotton-foundation and wool pile Herekes featured a mixture of Oriental and European designs. Throughout the twentieth century Hereke workshops produced both modern and traditional silk pile weavings with weft accents in gold and silver metallic thread.

  • Color

The Hereke carpet colors are generally ivory, reds, blues, greens, or cinnamon, with shades of gold and brown used for the design elements. Dark blue, brown, or black outline the designs.

  • Design and Pattern

By the early twentieth century, Hereke weavers adopted the Aubusson, Savonnerie, Adam, and Cuenca designs and combined them with Oriental motifs in the field. These Hereke carpets are popular and can be found in the market.

Some carpets have a “Hereke” signature woven in Naskhi script, a style of Farsi writing. These signatures appear inside a rectangular shape on the bottom right corner of the inner borders.

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Looms of Hereke

  1. Abraham Levi Moheban. 2015. The Encyclopedia of Antique Carpets: Twenty-Five Centuries of Weaving. NewYork: Princeton Architectural Press.