A Fogarasi Református Egyházközség török szőnyegei és azok 20. századi sorsa
The Ottoman Rugs of the Reformed Congregation in Fogaras and Their Sale in the 20th Century

Summary/Abstract: Archival records dating to the 18th century indicate that the Reformed Congregation of Fogaras possessed at least six Ottoman rugs, one of the most significant rug collections among Transylvania’s Calvinist churches. The collection existed until the first half of the twentieth century. In 1914, four of these rugs were sent to Budapest as part of the Transylvanian Turkish Rugs exhibition. A decade later, Franz Brandrup, a merchant and collector from Timișoara/Temeswar, offered to acquire the entire collection. Correspondence relating to this transaction has been preserved in the congregation’s archival records. The rugs were subsequently sold; one piece can currently be identified based on a photograph taken during the 1914 exhibition and another one based on its description in the catalogue. This study reconstructs the historical rug collection through the analysis of archival documentation from the period, examines the circumstances surrounding its dispersal, and provides new insights into the activities of the collector Franz Brandrup. By reassessing ecclesiastical documentary evidence, this paper contributes to a more complex understanding of Ottoman rug collections in the region, and it may help identify some artefacts which entered private or public collections nearly a century ago.

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