(Museum-Quality) (One of 70 "Best-of-Their-Type Rugs" Sold in 2025)  This most daring and evocative Melas prayer rug evokes a similar sense of an artist plunging past the frontiers of their art form as was seen in 20th-century European painting. Its architecture borrows shapes and the use of space from numerous Turkish traditions, such as the hexagonal medallion, the Ladik niched prayer mihrab, and the single main border of Konya. The absence of outlining sections or individual elements in the rug is unprecedented and lends a dreamlike quality to this astonishing piece. Unifying the composition, the beguiling, aged crimson, with its varying use of abrash from subtle to striking, ably supports all these elements and many more; its powerful effect is almost hypnotic. This rug skillfully invites viewers to abandon logical constructs and see the ancient symbols as they are: beautiful and compelling. The ever-changing tonalities within the carnation border itself inspire a leisurely exploration. Turkish weavers are beloved for their spontaneous departures from their village’s particular inherited pattern, but this piece is of a different nature, the evidence of a master.

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