Antique Karabagh Rugs: Where is Kasim Ushak?

In his Review of Caucasian Carpets and Covers Dr. Murray Eiland Jr. MD wrote:

"Another plate from the same source depicts a "Karabagh District pile rug, Kurdistan area, Kasym Ushagy village." This attribution raises more questions than it answers. Is there a village of that name, and, if so, where is it? The authors have included seven maps, most of which deal with the distribution of various ethnic groups, but there are no maps indicating the location of villages or towns. Not only is there a substantial series of Kasim Ushag rugs with Armenian inscriptions, but a translation of this label by Armenians indicates that it means, "in the manner of Ushak." Is the 1928 lithograph merely that of a commercial pattern, or does it relate to the Kasim Ushag rugs collected in the West today?"

I conducted a detailed search of the place names in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. There is an Ushak in the Kuba area. However the only name even vaguely similar is Kazanbulak.

Ulrich Schurmann attributed Kasim Ushak rugs to the "isolated Kurdish tribes" of Karabagh. Caucasian Rugs page 40. Schurmann did not specify a particular town or village.

In Oriental Rugs Volume 1 Caucasian.makes the observation that Kasim Ushak are indistinguishable from Chelaberd rugs. Kazanbulak is a neighboring town to Chelaberti (Chelaberd) in the northern most area of Karabagh (Nagorno Karabahk).

Eiland & Eiland argue for an Armenian provenance rather than a Kurdish one. Two very interesting clue they offer are the great number of Kasim Ushaks with Armenian inscriptions and perhaps more significantly the incidence of packing cables. Oriental Rugs A Complete Guide page 24. These are heavy cabled wefts at irregular intervals used to hammer down to keep the rug straight and compact. This technique is rare except in carpets such as Dragon Carpets.

Antique Kasim Ushak Carpet Karabagh Region

Kasim Ushak is a corruption of Kazanbulak,

Northern Karabagh in an area where there are both Armenians and Kurds it is the only logical choice I can make.

Karabagh rug appraised by Peter Pap of Peter Pap Oriental Rugs, in Dublin, New Hampshire.

ROADSHOW visitor Betsy from New Jersey brought in a rug she inherited from her grandmother. She told appraiser Peter Pap the rug had lain on the third floor of her house for 20 years, and Betsy has had it for about 30 years in all, moving it between living rooms and kitchens. The rug is a Karabagh, a Caucasian rug woven in the Caucus Mountains of Southern Russia by members of the Kurd tribe. This particular design is known as Kasim Ushad. What is unusual about this rug, Mr. Pap explained, is that most woven rugs are attributed to a certain village or at least a nomadic group, but there is no real documented village by the name Kasim Ushad. He said rugs with this design were woven in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Because it has a couple of synthetic dyes woven into it, including a pink color and an orange color, Mr. Pap dates the rug to the early 20th century. He also remarked on one of the rug's most interesting features, a curled leaf design. "The design dates back to 17th century embroideries, where it's thought that even before it was a leaf form, it came from dragon floral carpets." Although the rug is slightly damaged in one corner, it's basically in good condition; Mr. Pap assigned a retail value in the area of $8,000.

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