EAST CAUCASUS, CIRCA 1820

The design of the present rug, known in both Shirvan and Karagashli rugs, is well known, having been reproduced many times in the late 19th century. The present rug, with its much more open proportions than normal, with the style and individuality of the minor moitfs, and with the broad range of excellent colours, can be dated to the beginning of its adoption in the first half of the nineteenth century. A similar rug with S-motif border was with Herrmann (Eberhart: Asiatische Teppich und Textilkunst, Munich, 1990, no.26, pp.60-61). The drawing and colouring of the present rug are also closely akin to a rug in the Victoria and Albert Museum with a design usually attributed to Akstafa (Hali, vol.3, no.2, 1980, p.106, pl.27) and a similar rug in the Burns Collection (Burns, James D.: The Caucasus, Traditions in Weaving, Seattle, 1987, no.22).