Carpet, wool knotted pile on wool foundation, 'eagle' or 'sunburst' design on red ground, Kazak or Genje, Azerbaijan, 1800-1900

Carpet, hand knotted woollen pile on woollen warp and weft, Caucasian, 19th century
WARP: white with some barber-pole white and brown wool; Z2S; 13 threads per inch (51 per dm).
WEFT: light red wool; Z-spun, unplied; 2 shoots after each row of knots, but there are areas with 4 shoots, usually worked as narrow wedges - this may have been done to compensate for lose warp tension or for variations in the thickness of the wool used for the pile; varies from 6-11 knots per inch (25-42 per dm).
PILE: wool; 8 colours: red, yellow, dark green, green, dark blue, blue, dark brown, white; symmetrical knot tied around 2 warp threads; average 55 knots per sq. inch (average 854 per sq. dm).
SIDE FINISH: 1 cord oversewn with dark brown wool and added later.
END FINISH: missing; the lower edge is uneven due to faulty tnesion in the warp.
DESIGN: Field: red ground with large 'sunburst' in centre with one palmette above and below; floral stems, animals and geometric motifs fill ground.
Main border: white ground red hooked bars with an infill of chevrons; these alternate with indented multi-coloured octagons.
Inner border: reciprocal blue and brown trefoils; the blue usualy contain a red knot.
Outer border: as inner but now incomplete.
Catalogue Date: 22.10.97

Purchased from E. Beghian

One of the wonderful things about many Caucasian carpets is the inclusion of small birds and animals among the formal elements of the design. They often seem to have been added as a whim. There are animals around the central star-like motif and two small animals in the upper right hand corner have no heads because the weaver on that side had to begin the border before she had time to complete them.

T.264-1927