A great example of a rare type of Kazak, this rug is in very good condition. Four other examples have been published, one in the Rudnick Collection with shield motif border (Bailey and Hopkins, no.20, p.66), one in the Yohe Collection (Tschebull, pl.40, p.98) and two others at times on the market, (Herrmann IV, p.152, no.46 and Bennett p.79, no.66, the last of slightly shortened proportions). The first of these bears a date which can be read either as 1833 or 1852, while the third is also dated to either 1844 or 1850. All have the same colouring and the last three the same border design, including the guard stripes (the outer guard of the Yohe carpet is a zagzag). The main border of ours and three of the others is almost identical to one on an eighteenth century rug sold in these rooms (Christie's, lot 69, subsequently published in Herrmann V p.48, no.21). The archaic feel of the motifs in the central medallion, coupled with the border support the dating of this rug to the second quarter of the 19th century. An interesting rug in the Vakiflar Museum combines elements of this field with a debased version of the border but replaces the Memling guls with minor Karatchopf octagons (Yetkin, vol.1, pl.98).

Bailey, J. and Hopkins, M.: Through the Collector's Eye - Oriental Carpets from New England Private Collections, Providence Rhode Island 1991
Bennett, I.: Oriental Rugs - Volume 1 Caucasian, London 1981
Christie's: Fine Eastern Rugs and Carpets, 13th June 1983
Herrmann, E.: Seltene Orientteppiche IV, Munich 1982
Herrmann, E.: Seltene Orientteppiche V, Munich 1983
Tschebull, R.: Kazak, New York 1971
Yetkin, S.: Early Caucasian Carpets in Turkey, London 1978