Oushak Rugs

What is an antique Oushak rug?

An antique Oushak rug is a hand-knotted Turkish carpet woven in the town of Uşak and its surrounding villages in western Anatolia, roughly 100 years ago or more. Oushaks are prized for three things above all: luminous, soft-toned color, large-scale open drawing, and glossy, resilient wool. Uşak became one of the most important weaving centers of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th century, and its carpets were so admired in Europe that they appear under the feet of saints, monarchs and merchants in Renaissance paintings. Oushak belongs to the wider family of antique Turkish rugs. For history, identification and value in depth, read our antique Oushak rugs guide and our longer Oushak reference.

What are the main types of Oushak rugs?

Oushaks fall into two historical groups, with modern Oushak-style rugs as a separate third category. Knowing which you are looking at decides both the price and how the rug will behave in a room.

• Classical star and medallion Oushaks, 15th to 17th centuries. The great early designs, with radiating stars or monumental medallions, famous enough to be named after the painters who pictured them, such as Holbein and Lotto. Surviving examples are rare, museum-grade objects with deeper, more saturated palettes and archaic drawing.
• Revival Oushaks, about 1870 to 1930. Western demand in the late 19th century revived the town's looms, and these carpets, woven in room sizes and oversizes for European and American houses, make up almost all of the antique Oushaks on the market. They favor all-over angular vines, sparse medallions and generous open fields in pale, warm palettes. All of the antique Oushaks in our collection belong to this group or to the vintage decades just after it.
• Angora Oushaks. Some of the most prized 19th century Oushaks were woven with Angora wool from the goats of the Ankara region, which takes dye with a watercolor-like transparency and seems to glow. We have 10 in stock, all Turkish, all from the 1870s to 1890s.
• New Oushak-style rugs. Oushak design is widely reproduced today in other countries. The new hand-knotted Oushak-style rugs on this page were woven in India, China and Pakistan, and each listing states that origin. They are new rugs, not antiques.

How can you tell if an Oushak rug is antique?

Start with the wool. West Anatolian wool has a distinctive sheen and spring, and in an antique Oushak the pile catches the light almost like silk. Then check the rest:

• Structure. The symmetrical Turkish knot, a comparatively coarse weave and a supple handle, usually on a wool foundation. A stiff handle or a cotton, mesh-like back points away from the genuine article. See our guides to rug knots and KPSI and foundations, warps and wefts.
• Color. Revival-era Oushaks show natural-dye abrash and colors that have mellowed into the glowing pastel range designers love. Chemically washed reproductions imitate that softness, but the color sits on the surface, flat and uniform. Our natural vs synthetic dyes guide explains the difference.
• Drawing. Large in scale and unhurried, with generous space between motifs, and the small irregularities of a hand-knotted rug.
• Wear. Honest wear follows the traffic of a room. Distressing that is too even, across the whole surface, is a warning sign.
• Origin on the label. A modern Oushak-style rug is a legitimate new rug, but it is not an antique Turkish Oushak. Every listing on this site states origin and approximate age; see antique vs vintage vs new rugs.

How do you decorate with an antique Oushak rug?

Use an Oushak where you want a large rug that warms a room without dominating it. The soft palette and open, large-scale drawing read calmly, so Oushaks sit as comfortably in contemporary and transitional rooms as in traditional ones.

• Living rooms. Room-size Oushaks are the core of our collection, led by 9 x 12 and 10 x 14. Choose a size that lets at least the front legs of the seating rest on the rug. See our guide to antique 9 x 12 rugs.
• Large and open-plan rooms. Oushak is one of the few antique types that regularly reaches the largest sizes: we hold 34 oversized Oushak carpets, including 12 x 18, 13 x 16 and 16 x 21 or larger. See antique 10 x 14 rugs and large antique rugs, 12 x 18 and bigger.
• Square rooms. Square Oushak carpets such as 11 x 11 and 13 x 13 suit square rooms and round dining tables.
• Color pairings. Ivory and pale gold Oushaks suit neutral and light rooms; coral, apricot and terracotta pieces warm a cool palette; soft green and blue pieces pair well with wood and linen.
• Measure first. Our rug size guide explains how to measure, and every listing gives the measured size.

How do you care for an antique Oushak rug?

Treat an Oushak like the fine wool object it is: a quality pad, seasonal rotation, gentle vacuuming without a beater bar, no steam cleaning, and periodic hand washing by a rug specialist. The lustrous wool rewards good care by growing more beautiful with time.

• Light. Soft pastel palettes are part of the appeal, but long exposure to direct sun fades them further. Use curtains or UV film in very bright rooms.
• Spills. Blot at once with plain water, never rub or soak, and ask a specialist before trying any home remedy on a pale ground.
• Professional washing. Our rug cleaning service in Manhattan washes hand-knotted rugs with a pH-balanced process, after checking for old repairs and fragile areas.
• Moths. Large rugs spend much of their area under sofas and beds, exactly the dark, undisturbed places moth larvae prefer. Our moth-proofing service washes the rug first and then treats the fibers.
• Shape. Large carpets can ripple or pull out of square over time. Blocking and stretching helps a rug lie flat again.
• Restoration. Good, honest restoration is accepted in carpets of this age. Full pile and original ends and sides add value, so have damage stabilized early.

Glossary of antique Oushak rug terms

These are the terms you will meet most often in our listings and guides for Oushak rugs.

Uşak

The town in western Anatolia, Turkey, that gives Oushak rugs their name, also spelled Ushak. Shop Oushak rugs.

Star Ushak

A classical Oushak layout of large radiating star medallions, one of the earliest Turkish carpet designs to become famous in Europe.

Medallion Ushak

A classical Oushak layout built around monumental medallions on an open field.

Holbein and Lotto carpets

15th and 16th century Anatolian rugs, many from Uşak, named after the European painters who pictured them.

Revival Oushak

A carpet from the late 19th and early 20th century revival of Uşak weaving, about 1870 to 1930, usually in room sizes and oversizes.

Angora wool

Lustrous fiber from the Angora goats of the Ankara region, used in some of the most prized 19th century Oushaks.

Ghiordes knot

The symmetrical or Turkish knot, tied around two warps, used in Oushak and across Anatolia.

Abrash

Soft bands of tonal variation within one color, from changes in dye lot. Welcome in an antique Oushak.

Chemical wash

A treatment used on some modern rugs to fake the soft color of age. The color sits flat on the surface rather than glowing from within the wool.

Oversize

A carpet larger than standard room sizes, roughly 12 x 18 and up. Oushak is one of the few antique types that reaches these sizes regularly.