“Lotto” Carpet with Closed Kufesque Border, Anatolian, Ottoman period (1281-1924), first half 16th century. Wool, 203.2 x 111.8 cm. Saint Louis Art Museum,Gift of James F. Ballard, 101:1929.

Carpets with this type of angular, stylized floral design are referred to as “Lotto” carpets because they appear in several paintings by the Renaissance Italian artist Lorenzo Lotto. He knew such carpets because they were exported to Italy from Anatolia. Although this style was popular in Italy, carpets made for the Ottoman court in Istanbul were very different, with central medallions and curving floral designs. Carpets were also used differently in the two regions: in the Islamic world, they were placed on the floor, whereas in Europe, they were used to cover tables. For this reason, the export carpets were generally smaller than those made for use within the Ottoman Empire. The motif in the border of the carpet is pseudo-Kufic script. Kufic is an angular style of Arabic script, and here the letters are so abstracted and stylized that they are merely decorative. For centuries, luxury textiles had been exported from the Islamic world to Europe, so the pseudo-script indicated the carpet’s origins and value.