SOUTH CAUCASUS, FIRST HALF 19TH CENTURY

Of an unusual large size, this Fachralo rug displays a rare, open white ground. The striking monolithic quality of the central medallion seems both ancient and modern. Its potency is magnified by the almost snow-white field devoid of ornamentation that is contrasted with the intense red of the medallion. The curved outlines of the protruding hooks above and below the medallion sit in contrast with the jagged red saw-tooth frame that cuts into the blank white field. All of these elements help emphasize the strength and scale of its form.

A larger white-ground Fachralo rug displaying the more common paired medallion, was exhibited by Gallery Cohen at the 9th ICOC in Milan which bore a date, AH 1281 / 1865 AD (HALI, Issue 106, p.28). A smaller white-ground Fachralo of prayer format in the Mike Tschebull collection, is published by Ralph Kaffel, Caucasian Prayer Rugs, London, 1998, p.54, pl.14. Kaffel lists just two comparisons: F. Bausback, Antike Orienttepiche, p.185, and M. Tschebull, 'The Development of Four Kazak designs', HALI 1/3, pp.257-261, fig.34. Tschebull believes that the white wool in his and similar rugs has been bleached, which might account for the absence of yellowing common to natural white wool. Other Kazak rugs, such as the small sub-group of Fachralo 'Fur Hide' medallion rugs, an example of which is in the Zaleski collection, use plain white grounds to great effect within their designs, (HALI, Issue 175, p.73, fig.12). Some experts have suggested that these small white-ground rugs, with or without niche designs, should be attributed to Lori Pambak rather than Fachralo but the present rug and its kin all possess designs typical of Fachralos both in their borders and the central medallions.