Prayers Rugs from Sarajevo Mosques

Next to the carpet collection of the National Museum of BiH, this is the most valuable collection of old prayer rugs and carpets in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The exhibition 'Prayer Rugs from Sarajevo Mosques' opened at the Gallery of the Municipality of Novi Grad in Sarajevo. Exhibits are part of the collection of the Majlis of Islamic Community in Sarajevo.

These valuable prayer rugs have been only recently discovered by the efforts of two enthusiasts and art historians Kenan Surkovic and Dr Haris Dervisevic, who, with the support of the Majlis, found around eighty valuable old prayer rugs and carpets, among which the prayer rugs should be especially emphasized. The research lasted nearly a year.

The oldest exhibits are from the 18th century, while the largest number dates to the 19th or the beginning of the 20th century. Most of them were made in Turkey and some in Balkan countries, and a smaller part in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to their value, we should mention the Kula Anatolian prayer rug from the end of the 18th century; the rug made in the Sarajevo weaving factory at the end of the 19th century; as well as several Balkan prayer rugs from the first half or the middle of the 19th century.

Experts have confirmed that next to the collection of the National Museum of BiH, this is the most valuable collection of old prayer rugs and carpets in Bosnia. The exhibition 'Prayer Rugs from Sarajevo Mosques' will run through September 6, 2018.