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Lot Essay
This long kelleh was woven in Shusha, the former capital of the Karabagh region. We know from reports in historical sources that such pieces were woven on commission for Russian military officers or officials and exported to the Tsarist Empire. The Russians favoured these designs for their vibrant colour palette, as well as the long but narrow kelleh proportions.
As with many Karabagh kelleh, the field of the present lot displays a polychromatic mina khani design. This relies on formal rows of petalled blossoms of alternating type and colour, linked with a trellis vine. It was most commonly associated with Kurdish weavers, and used extensively at least from the late 18th century. Like the herati pattern, the mina khani design was adopted by a multitude of peoples, including different Turkoman tribes and the Baluch, and was used prolifically in the urban production of Veramin in Iran from the late 19th century. It is probable that this repeating floral pattern, as with others such as the Harshang or Afshan designs, stems from a once more complex Persian Safavid design, such as the 'in and out' palmette carpets of Isfahan.
For a comparable example with an azure-blue border see, John Eskenazi, L'Arte del Tappeto Orientale, Milan 1983, no. 96 and for further discussion on this group and the mina khani design see Hadi Maktabi, (The Persian Carpet, The Forgotten Years, 1722-1872, Verona, 2019, pp.118-129).
As with many Karabagh kelleh, the field of the present lot displays a polychromatic mina khani design. This relies on formal rows of petalled blossoms of alternating type and colour, linked with a trellis vine. It was most commonly associated with Kurdish weavers, and used extensively at least from the late 18th century. Like the herati pattern, the mina khani design was adopted by a multitude of peoples, including different Turkoman tribes and the Baluch, and was used prolifically in the urban production of Veramin in Iran from the late 19th century. It is probable that this repeating floral pattern, as with others such as the Harshang or Afshan designs, stems from a once more complex Persian Safavid design, such as the 'in and out' palmette carpets of Isfahan.
For a comparable example with an azure-blue border see, John Eskenazi, L'Arte del Tappeto Orientale, Milan 1983, no. 96 and for further discussion on this group and the mina khani design see Hadi Maktabi, (The Persian Carpet, The Forgotten Years, 1722-1872, Verona, 2019, pp.118-129).