SOUTH CAUCASUS, SECOND HALF 19TH CENTURY

The inclusion of part medallions on each side of the field is unusual in Kazak rugs and suggests that the design was intended as part of an endless repeat pattern. The single, central column of hooked octagons displayed in the field is a motif seen not only on Caucasian rugs but also on Anatolian, Persian and Turkmen weavings, and was often portrayed in the Flemish paintings by Hans Memling, with whose name the design has become synonymous. The linked chequered lozenges to each side that are connected by a vertical pole, appear to diminish in size as they ascend and are filled with a variety of polychrome mosaic patterns which add to the rustic appearance of this charming village rug. The visual interplay of the large octagons and the pole lozenges produces a secondary ivory medallion between these motifs with the polychrome lozenges at their centre.