AZERBAIJAN, EARLY 20TH CENTURY

John Wertime notes that the earliest type of pile was likely based upon loops with examples in linen dating back as early as circa 2000 BC. The simplicity of the technique led to widespread use and continued up until the last century (John Wertime, 'Woven Minimalism', HALI, no.196, 2018, pp.85-86). Like the present rug, 20th century examples in looped pile tend towards mimimalist, geometric designs, see, for example a monochromatic Anatolian looped pile rug (Wertime, op.cit., p.84, fig.8). Slightly more ambitious in its design, the bold lozenges here fit into a similar vocabulary as kilims such as one published in Kurt Zipper and Claudia Fritzsche, Orienteppiche: Band III Anatolische Teppiche, Germany, 1977, p.159, no. 167.