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Lot Essay
This 'Kaitag' village embroidery from the Daghestan highlands, has gained currency as the designation for a certain type of Near Eastern laid and couched silk embroidery. These dramatically designed panels have been appearing in small numbers on the international market since the 1970s.
According to Robert Chenciner, who was the first to study these Caucasian embroideries, their iconographic meaning is always linked to the three great themes of birth, marriage and death. The embroideries were executed in silk on cotton, which was often pieced together as it had to be market bought. These cloths were used for the most important events in life. They were placed over the cradle of a child. In the case of the departed, it was forbidden among the Kaitag to look upon the face of a deceased person, so they were laid over the head. The embroidered side was on the face, perhaps symbolising a final look back at life, (see Robert Chenciner, Textile Art from Daghestan, London, 1993).
Their designs, which show a number of imported design influences, demonstrate how active the trade of the northern Caucasus region was with foreign marketplaces such as China, Italy, Persia and the Ottoman Empire. The design of our embroidery is dominated by a large centralised 'sun' roundel, above and below which are two pairs of large scrolling horns. A Kaitag of similar archaic design on a blue ground was published by R. Chenciner, op.cit.,1993, p.88-9, pl.20. The belief in animism survived well into the 19th century in the mountain villages of Daghestan and the sun was worshipped both as the source of light and warmth as well as being connected with the growth of food. Midwinter processions behind an idol were held to encourage the sun to return in order to melt the snow and start springtime for another year. Sun signs also appear on tombstones and on the backs of the spoon boxes which are found next to the hearth in every Kaitag home. The dynamic design is made even more striking by the contrasting red cotton ground and the ivory silk embroidery. For further discussion on this enigmatic group of embroideries see R. Chenciner, (op.cit. 1993) and Ziya Bozolgu, (Kaitag: Daghestani silk embroidery, an Italian collection, Perugia, 2007).
According to Robert Chenciner, who was the first to study these Caucasian embroideries, their iconographic meaning is always linked to the three great themes of birth, marriage and death. The embroideries were executed in silk on cotton, which was often pieced together as it had to be market bought. These cloths were used for the most important events in life. They were placed over the cradle of a child. In the case of the departed, it was forbidden among the Kaitag to look upon the face of a deceased person, so they were laid over the head. The embroidered side was on the face, perhaps symbolising a final look back at life, (see Robert Chenciner, Textile Art from Daghestan, London, 1993).
Their designs, which show a number of imported design influences, demonstrate how active the trade of the northern Caucasus region was with foreign marketplaces such as China, Italy, Persia and the Ottoman Empire. The design of our embroidery is dominated by a large centralised 'sun' roundel, above and below which are two pairs of large scrolling horns. A Kaitag of similar archaic design on a blue ground was published by R. Chenciner, op.cit.,1993, p.88-9, pl.20. The belief in animism survived well into the 19th century in the mountain villages of Daghestan and the sun was worshipped both as the source of light and warmth as well as being connected with the growth of food. Midwinter processions behind an idol were held to encourage the sun to return in order to melt the snow and start springtime for another year. Sun signs also appear on tombstones and on the backs of the spoon boxes which are found next to the hearth in every Kaitag home. The dynamic design is made even more striking by the contrasting red cotton ground and the ivory silk embroidery. For further discussion on this enigmatic group of embroideries see R. Chenciner, (op.cit. 1993) and Ziya Bozolgu, (Kaitag: Daghestani silk embroidery, an Italian collection, Perugia, 2007).