Middle East, Textile, Carpet; Azerbaijan, 1800-1825

Carpet, hand knotted woollen pile on woollen warp and cotton weft, Caucasian, 19th century
WARP: dark brown wool; Z spun, unplied; 15 threads per inch (58 per dm)
WEFT: white cotton; Z3S; 2 shoots after each row of knots; 10 knots per inch (40 per dm).
PILE: wool; 9 colours: red, yellow, dark blue, blue, light blue, brown, light brown, black, white; symmetrical knot tied around 2 warp threads; 75 knots per sq. inch (1160 per sq. dm).
SIDE FINISH: One cord overcast with white cotton.
END FINISH: Lower:02 (1.5 cms) plain weave with white cotton weft and a fringe of twisted warp loops, 2" (5cms) maximum.
Upper: 1.5cms of plain weave with white cotton weft, then one pass of weft twining. The fringe is incomplete but with evidence of warp threads with a single knot and meaasuring 4cms.
DESIGN: Field: Dark blue ground; Afshan design in one complete row. The 'lilies' and their stems are white, other stems are yellow; the central rosettes are red, then white, then red; those on the sides are all red.
Main Border: red ground with pseudo-kufic, white tracery.
Inner and outer border: yellow ground with an angular floral meander with red stems, blue leaves and light brown blossoms.

Catalogue date: 7.05.97

Mentioned and illustrated in "Caucasian Rugs in the V & A", by M. Franses and R. Pinner (intro. by Donald King). Hali 1980, Vol. 3, No. 2, p. 95, 102, 103, 114

R.D. "Carpet. wool, woven on a dark blue ground... on a red ground. From Baku. Caucasian. AFK. February, 1904

cf. Yetkin (1978) Vol. 1., illus. 70. "Floral Carpet (Afshan Pattern), late 18th c." a Fragment. Vol. 2, p.62. 330-1892 .. is of the Khila Afshan type.

Bennet (1981) illus. 309 "Kuba". Quotes Yetkin above "Kufic border introduced from Anatolia in 19th c."

Schurmann (1974) illus. 28 Afshan pattern. Karabagh, Shusha Area? Late 18th or early 19th c.?

When anything is well-designed and well-made, it is often difficult to comment other than to draw attention to its beauty. This is, quite simply, a lovely carpet … but if you look at the inner and outer borders you will see that the ground is sometimes white and sometimes light brown. In the lower part this suggests a change of mind; in the upper part it suggest a lack of concentration.

330-1892