ORIENTAL RUGS DICTIONARY

Hereke

The “Imperial Silk Factory” was founded at Hereke in the early 19 Century. Some confusion surrounds the exact origin of this prestigious enterprise, and the precise date of its founding. In The beginning, the workshop supplied velvet and silk textiles to the court of Sultan Abdul Mecit. Only later did Hereke engage in rug weaving, although production increased rapidly, turning out rugs woven from silk as well as wool and sometimes brocaded in metal threads. The technical quality of the Hereke production was, and remains, fine enough to rival the best carpets woven in Iran.