It is extraordinary for a Caucasian rug to have a field entirely composed of animals. Occasionally in carpets of the eighteenth century a large number of animals are found but, as in the remarkable silk carpet in the Keir Collection (Spuhler,F.: Islamic Carpets and Textiles in the Keir Collection, London, 1976, no.68, pp.132-4 and col.pl.p.137), they are combined with other motifs. A carpet in the Wher Collection (Yetkin, S.: Early Caucasian Carpets in Turkey, London, 1978, vol.II, pl.222) similarly combines the animals, this time with large trees. In the present example, which from the stylisation of the animals and the weave must be dated later than the two examples quoted above, not only are there no other motifs, but the animals are depicted facing all directions. The border in this carpet is also notable, being a far more detailed version of the design which later in the century became one of the most frequently encountered of all Shirvan borders.