KUBA REGION, EARLY 19TH CENTURY

Heinrich Kirchheim likens this rug to the rare group of so-called Zejwa rugs named after a village south of Kuba, (Kirchheim, ibid, p.45). The characteristic design of that group is based on a series of large saw-toothed palmettes with radiating centers that are reminiscent of the 'sun-burst' medallion found on Chelaberd rugs in the southern Caucasus. The palmette design has also been likened to the 'Ogurjali' gül found on certain Yomut Turkoman carpets, (Ian Bennett, Oriental Carpets, Volume I Caucasian, p.305, pl.404,). Bennett must have favoured this particular design, as a striking Zejwa carpet of comparable design to the present lot appears on his front cover, (Bennett, op.cit. pl.404).