JBOC's Notes on Oriental Rugs

Talish Rugs the O'Connell Guide

Richard Rothstein Oriental Rugs  Hagop Manoyan Antique Rugs

Talish

  • The Talish live along the Caspian coast south of the Viliazh-Chai River". The Talish are Shia Muslim. Ethnologue: Azerbaijan - Talish. The Talish are on both sides of the Azerbaijan Iran border. The Talish were a major Kizilbash tribal confederation.

    "Talyshe. This ethnic group abodes in southeast Azerbaijan, specifically in the Lenkoran, Astara and, in part, in the Masally and Lerik districts. According to the 1989 census, there were more than 21,000 Talyshe in Azerbaijan.

    In the past, the Talyshe living in the valleys were mainly rice growers and the highlanders were herdsmen. The Talyshe have become deeply integrated with the Azerbaijani ethnic group. The traditions and everyday lives of the Talyshe differ little from those of the Azerbaijanis. Many of the Talyshe are bilingual, speaking both Talyshe and Azerbaijani. But although Azerbaijani is widespread,"

Talish Rug Southeast Caucasus
Talish Rug Southeast Caucasus 3rd quarter 19th century

 

Talish rugs are typically 2 to 3 times as long as they are wide. They average 80 knots per square inch and have a 1:1 knot ratio. See Stone,Peter. The Oriental Rug Lexicon and Hubel, Reinhard G. The Book of Carpets.

Besides the long narrow format an uncluttered often plain field is expected. Hubel describes the structure as 2 ply wool warps, Twisted and undyed. The wefts are always two shots and usually cotton. Hubel also notes supplementary discontinuous wefts along the sides up to 6 cm into the rug. Selvages are usually blue and sometimes white warped over 1 to 4 warps. Knot counts can range from 75 to 120 knots per square inch. Hubel, Reinhard G. The Book of Carpets.

For Further Reading:

Thanks and best wishes,

J. Barry O'Connell Jr.

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