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Caucasian Rugs: Guide to Seychour Zeikhur Rugs

A Seychour Cabbage Rose Rug lot 9

Seychour also Seichur, Tabassarans, and Yukhari-Zeykhur.

Sub-type of Kuba Rugs, See: Guide To Kuba Rugs

Seychour rugs usually come in one of two patterns. Above we see the Seychour Rose or cabbage rose as many call it. To the right we see the Seychour Cross. Please note the similarities. The pattern of the main border of the top rug is the same as the guard borders of the rug to the right. This is commonly called the Running Dog Border or sometimes the Seychour border. The Main Border of the rug to the right uses the same pattern as the Rose rug above.

The Cabbage Rose Rug above is in wonderful condition and illustrates several attribution clues. Note top and bottom the skirts of Offset Overhand Knots. Related to Mallett's Woven Structures 13.9. Also note the "four cord" reinforced selvedge Mallett 15.16. We see the same ends and selvedges in the James Cohen Zeykhur Rug. Then compare the main border in the Cohen Zeykhur Rug which is the guard border in the Cabbage Rose Rug

We do not see the same symmetry in borders of Zeykhur rugs as we do in other Caucasian rugs. Two borders are typical and one or none are seen.

Zeykhur Rug from James Cohen

A Seychour rug lot 14

Zeykhur Rug from James Cohen

Ulrich Schurmann suggested that of all the Caucasian rugs Zeykhur Kuba rugs are the only ones that are single wefted. That means that there is one row of wefts between each row of knots. Caucasian Rugs page 47. This assertion is problematic since most experts disagree. Then again there seems to be a lack of unanimity as to how Zeykhur rugs are constructed.

Murray Eiland Jr suggest that they are slightly to moderately depressed. Oriental Rugs A Complete Guide page 285.

Hubel describes the wefts as sinuous which would give a flat back. Hubel, Reinhard G. The Book of Carpets plates 51 and 52.

Ian Bennett suggests that Zeykhur have a depressed back Oriental Rugs Volume 1 Caucasian page 288.

Ulrich Schurmann mentioned that white fields are common and a yellow field (as we see here) is less common. Caucasian Rugs page 47.

Zeykhur is south by southeast of Derbent and 20 miles west of Karagashli. In Zeikhur, Hali 62, April 1992 pages 85 to 95 Raoul "Mike" Tschebull explores Zeykhur rugs. He does not address the question of the wefts.

Murray Eiland Jr suggest that Zeykhur Rugs may be Tabasaranian. Oriental Rugs A Complete Guide page 285.

Map adapted from www.calle.com

Alpan

The late Ulrich Schurmann wrote that Alpan rugs were a type of Kuba "probably woven in Sejshour" Caucasian Rugs page 113. Ian Bennett suggests that they are actually a type of Seichur. Of course he also places Seichur as a type of Kuba and that Alpans and Seichurs have the same construction. Oriental Rugs Volume 1 Caucasian pages 301 - 303.

Alpan Fragment.Harold Keshishian Collection

A Seychour long rug lot 17

Seichur is the rug name for the small town of Yukhari-Zeykhur in Azerbaijan. Dr, Murray Eiland Jr. in Oriental Rugs A Complete Guide shows Yukhari-Zeykhur in Russian Daghestan. My information places it in Azerbaijan (Latitude 41.5683 Longitude 48.3831 and an Altitude of 1637 feet www.calle.com)

Yukhari-Zeykhur was a village in the north of the old Khanate of Kuba. http://www.calle.com/ The people are Tabasarans who are a Northern Caucasian people who speak a dialect related to Lezgi.