This prayer kilim was created to be a talisman or prayer for good luck, and it is also a Thanksgiving Hymn of Praise to Allah, the merciful and compassionate Lord of Creation. Multiple (quintuple) prayer arch prayer kilim, consisting of five gates or "mihraps" through which the believer must pass in order to reach "jennet" or paradise. The five gates also represent the five pillars or foundations of Islam, to wit, Confession, Prayer, Fasting, Purification and Pilgrimage. The stylized ladder design can also be viewed as double-sided combs, symbolic of cleanliness. The kilim is also divided into eighteen panels, each containing motifs symbolizing flowers, horizontal "S" shapes indicating eternity, and vertical "S" shapes suggesting fertility and prosperity. Each mihrap is crowned by a pair of ram's horns, suggesting strength and endurance, and a row of camel's teeth finishes each end. The colors are madder root red, pistachio green, eggplant purple, onion skin yellow, indigo blue, and natural undyed white. All colors are made from the above mentioned vegetable extracts, the wool was probably treated with a natural mordant.

This object has the following keywords:

• Rug

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