Mucur rugs in Anatolian Turkish carpet art: Features of motif and composition

In Turkish communities, the carpet has become an art form that conveys the weaver's feelings through the motifs it contains, as well as serving its functional purpose. The art of carpet weaving, which came from Central Asia to Anatolia with the Turks, has shown steady development in Anatolia. The Anatolian carpet, the early examples of which date back to the 13th century, has exhibited a dynamic structure and displayed continuous development and variation in terms of its motifs and compositional features from this period onwards. Nowadays, some of the examples of Turkish carpets, which are among the most precious works in national and international museums and private collections, are prayer rugs. This study is about prayer rugs from the Mucur region in the collection of Ankara Vakıf Eserleri Museum. Within the scope of this study, research was conducted at Ankara Vakıf Eserleri Museum after obtaining necessary permissions from Vakıflar Genel Müdürlüğü. In this context, inventory records have been examined and 28 Mucur rugs have been identified. A catalog has been created for these 28 works and detailed descriptions of the motifs and compositional features of the rugs have been provided. All of these carpets are of the prayer rug type. The works were woven as single mihrab, intertwined mihrabs and saf prayer rugs. Although the mihrab depicted in the rug field exhibits three different forms, there is a unity of mihrab arch forms in the works. The Mihrab arch, surrounded with several lines of contours, narrows and rises in a stepped pattern, eventually merging. Mihrab niches, mihrab spandrels, rectangular frames located above and below the mihrab, and the bordures exhibit distinctive features unique to the region in terms of their motifs and composition. In addition, the influence of the Kırşehir carpets, and to some extent the Lâdik carpets on motifs and composition features of the Mucur rugs can be clearly perceived. However, the Mucur rugs, which are now among the valuable ethnographic works in museums and private collections, have prominent features in terms of their distinctive elements, and by means of these features, they are easily distinguished from rugs woven in other weaving centers of Anatolia. This study, which focuses on Mucur region prayer rugs in the collection of Ankara Vakıf Eserleri Museum, is important for increasing familiarity with the carpets of the region. Every new work introduced in Anatolian Turkish carpet art reveals the richness of Anatolian Turkish carpet art in terms of its motifs and compositional features. In this context, this study titled 'Mucur Rugs in Anatolian Turkish Carpet Art: Features of Motif and Composition' is important not only for presenting known examples of Mucur carpet art but also for introducing newly identified works.