Mányoki János szerk.: Credo. Evangélikus Műhely. A Magyarországi Evangélikus Egyház folyóirata. 11 (2005) 3-4. sz.

Thesaurus Ecclesiae - BATÁRI FERENC: A brassói magyar evangélikus egyházközség török szőnyegei

The Turkish Rugs of the Hungárián Lutheran Church in Brasov Today Transylvania is the real treasury of 17

,h Century Ottoman-Turkic rug art. Most relics are owned by Lutheran churches. The Brasov „black" church is decorated with 104 rugs, the Segesvár „church of Franciscans" is decorated with 38 rugs, whereas the old church in Medgyes owns 25 rugs. The „Lorenzo Lotto" rug (Nr 1) (Usak, Anatólia, late 17

,h Century) has a typical, yellow arabesque lattice pattern on red ground, which is called „Lorenzo Lotto" mustra. The 16

,h Century „Lotto" rugs are large and the middlepart is fiiled with minutely drawn lattice patterns. The 17

,h Century rugs have a more simplified and smaller middle patterns. The rugfor prayer (Nr 2) (Gördes, Anatólia, late 17

th Century) has an ochre yellow middle part, which is decorated with a traditonally drawn niche (mihráb). Under the mihráb there are two wreathe-motifs, which is less traditonal. The „Transylvanian" double-niche rugs (Nr 3 and 4) (Usak, Anatólia, late 17'

h Century) are characterised by the concentric composition of a coupled-column niche, which became a populär pattern in the late 17

,h Century. The term „Transylvanian" applied to these rugs is misleading because it refers to the place where they were found and not to he place where they were made. The prayer rug (Nr 5) (Gördes (?), early 19

th Century) has a richly decorated middle part with a small dark-blue mihráb and stylised flower stems. The prayer rug (Nr 6) (Gördes (?) late 19

íh Century) was made in a Workshop which exported^roducts to the west. The middle with its hexagon-medallion design in red and the plain red-beige colours represent the typical rugs ofthis age. The prayer rug (Nr 7) (Ottoman, end of 19

lh Century) with simplified designs andfaded colours was made in the age when most rugs were made for export. Interest for the Islamic art revived in the 19

,h Century, and the new branch of art history developed dealing with orientál rugs and carpets. By the end of the Century notable public and private collections were förmed. However, orientál sources exhausted soon, and at the turn of the Century the western art dealers realised that the Transylvanian Protestant churches were the treasuries of Ottoman-Turkic rug art. Now the transport of rugs commenced from Transylvania to Western Europe and overseas. It was count Domokos Teleki whofirst warned about the possible danger and also undertook the task and thefinancial support of a publication dealing with Turkish rugs kept and protected in Transylvania. With the support of Jenő' Kutasi Radisics, the director of the Hungárián Museum of Arts and Grafts, count Teleki started collecting rugs which were displayed for the public at an exhibition in the Museum of Arts and Crafts in 1914. Meanwhile, due to the 1" World War, instead of the projected reference book, a simple catalogue was published; but all the scientific values of the exhibition, the Classification and the dating, even öfter 100 years, are still valid.