KARABAGH REGION, SOUTH CAUCASUS, THIRD QUARTER 19TH CENTURY

This long kelleh woven in Shusha, the former capital of the Karabagh region, displays a Mina Khani design of Persian influence in the dark blue field. We know from reports in historical sources that they were often woven on commission for Russian military officers or officials and exported to the Czarist Empire. The Russians favoured these designs in their vibrant colour palette, as well as the long but narrow kelleh proportions. For a comparable example with an azure-blue border but without the stepped ivory spandrels see, John Eskenazi, L'Arte del Tappeto Orientale, Milan 1983, no. 96.