Hereke - Rug - 72 cm - 49 cm - Turkish Rug Istanbul

Authentic Turkish Carpet from Istanbul or antique silk tapestry: 49 x 72 cm
Translation of the inscriptions 1. At the top: **"شراب اندر کف"** Translation: “Wine in hand” or “Wine in hand.” 2. On the left: **"چنگ اندر کف"** Translation: “The harp in hand” or “The zither in hand.” 3. On the right: **"کتف اندر کف"** This seems to be a distortion or stylization, but likely intended to rhyme with the others. The word "کتف" means “shoulder,” which here is probably metaphorical or poetic. 4. At the bottom: **"جام بیدار هوش"** Translation: “The cup that awakens the mind” or “The cup of awakening of intelligence.” The motif is typical of feast or Persian classical poetry scenes, often linked to the works of **Hafez** or **Omar Khayyam**, who sing of the pleasures of wine, music, and poetry. Perfect, I will explain the symbolism of this scene in Persian culture. --- ### **1. The Old Man (Sage or Poet) with the cup of wine:** * He usually represents the **Sufi** or the **mystical poet** (like Hafez, Omar Khayyam or Rumi). * Wine in Persian poetry is not merely an alcoholic drink; it is a **spiritual symbol**: * **Mystical awakening**, divine ecstasy. * **Transcendence of reason** to attain divine love. * Wine is a terrestrial “forbidden” thing but permitted in the “spiritual world,” which critiques social hypocrisy. ### **2. The Dancing Woman (Wine Dancer):** * She embodies **bodily pleasure**, earthly beauty. * But in Sufi poetry, she also becomes an **allegory of the free soul** dancing in the quest for union with the Divine. * The reclining, relaxed pose symbolizes the abandonment of moral constraints. ### **3. The Musician (Lyre or rubab player):** * He symbolizes **cosmic harmony**. * Music is seen as a means to reach spiritual ecstasy and to resonate with the universe. * It is the sonic equivalent of mystical wine: a path to self-forgetting in the Whole. ### **4. The inscriptions (Epicurean poetry):** * They evoke the three elements of the mystic feast: **wine (شراب), music (چنگ), and pleasure (کتف)**. * The bottom refers to the “cup that awakens the mind,” thus an invitation to transcend material life through pleasures that lead to higher consciousness. --- ### **Global symbolism:** This kind of scene is not merely a celebration of earthly pleasures: * It is a **metaphor of the Sufi mystical path**: * One frees oneself from rigid rules (religious or social). * One seeks the **divine truth** through art, wine, beauty, and love. * It is a gentle revolt against hypocrisy and a quest for authenticity.