SOUTH CAUCASUS, 19TH CENTURY

In the nineteenth century the weavers in Karabagh became increasingly interested in the textiles, tapestries and home-wares imported from Russia and Europe. These chintz and rococo-style influences were combined with highly floral designs, the most popular of which was the Gul-Farang or 'European Rose' pattern, a variant of which is seen here with the bouquets of roses enclosed within the leafy garlands. The vast majority were woven in wool with a relatively low knot count and would appear rather angular in drawing and at times rather intense in colour as the weavers favoured the recently introduced synthetic dyes. Many of these rugs appear quite personal in their subject matter and were presumably woven as private commissions to include pictorial scenes depicting trusted animals such as horses, dogs and cats as well as folklore or biblical scenes. A rug depicting the biblical story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, sold at Christie’s South Kensington, 18 September 2002, lot 1, and another displaying a dominant male lion in another, Christie’s, London 27 September 2000, lot 1. The present rug is quite different from those in that it is very finely woven in silk using a soumac technique which allowed the weaver to be much more precise in the depiction and shading of the individual flowers. One can assume that this was a commission from a wealthy individual due to the quantity of silk required which would have been extremely costly. There was a strong folklore tradition in the region and the inclusion of the soaring Swallows was considered a sign of the changing seasons, regeneration and new life. It has not been possible to find a comparable rug from this region that displays the same intricate work and observation of detail.