Antique Caucasian Rugs: Guide To Antique Kazak Rugs

Antique Kazak Caucasian Rug #44416

Qazax (Kazakh, Kazak, Kasak, Gazakh). The most used spelling today is Qazax but rug people use Kazak so I generally do as well. Part of this project is a constant refinement based on adding in new information. Now as I try to define Kazak I have to turn to the geography and history of the region. When I speak of Kazak rugs I am referring to rugs from the old Kazak Khanate. Qazax is a city of about twenty thousand people in Northwest Azerbaijan at 41.10°N, 45.35°E. In the Caucasus people live in valleys and mountain peaks are the dividers. Kazak was an important city because it controlled a series of valleys that extend from modern Azerbaijan into present day Armenia and Georgia. The people of this region are Azeri Turks, Armenians, Albanians, and Northern Caucasian. There are also Greeks, Russians, and Georgians, in the area but they do not appear to have made a significant number of rugs. Visit Kazak_Rugs on Hubpages and Caucasian_Rugs on Hubpages

Murray Eiland Jr.on the Kazaks There are few people I respect more than Murray Eiland Jr. The scope of his  work and the measure of his contribution to the field is hard to describe. Never the less there are few people that I disagree with as much as Murray. One area in particular is on the subject of Kazaks and the Kazaks of the Caucasus. In  Eiland, and Eiland, Oriental Rugs page 270 Murray suggests that there are no Kazaks in the Caucasus. He very rightly points out that the ethnic groups are Armenian, Azeri Turks and a few other smaller groups. I will conceded that Murray is correct but he is missing one key point. A Kazak is a descendent of one who left the Mongol horde (ordu). So in the Caucasus there are many people who are descendents of people who at some point split from the authority of the Chingizid rulers. Take for instance the Bordjalu region of the Kazak region in the Caucasus. The region takes it names from the Bordjalu Khanate which takes it name from the Bordjalu tribe. The Bordjalu tribe are the descendents of the 10,000 men Cingis Qan (Ghengis Khan) gave to his close friend and ally Boro'cu. At some point the tribe left the authority of the Mongol Il and at that point they were Kazak. This is not to say however that Kazaks wove the rugs that we call Kazak. The rugs we see are mostly post 1830 when most of the weavers of Kazak rugs were Armenians. Still the designs thay drew upon in many cases were from the Kazaks who had lived in that area prior to the Russian capture of Erevan.

Antique 19th c. Seljuk Rosette Kazak rug

How do people in Azeribaijan react to my notes;

Read Kazak Rugs The Aykhan Mammadov Response

Map of the Kazak Area

Kameral'noe Opisanie was a survey ordered by the Russian Czar and was conducted in the years from 1829- 1832 AD. More then just a census this gives us an idea of who the people were and how they lived. There are a few crucial clues that help in Rug studies.

Due to the fighting between Russia and the Ottomen Empire by 1830 thousands of the Muslims had recently moved out of the Province of Erevan. The Kameral'noe Opisanie notes more than 1/3 of all of the villages were abandoned. A large portion of Armenian imagration into Erevan was in the Gokcha Mahal the area north and northwest of Lake Van ( the large lake bottom center in the map below). Please note that major weaving areas such as Pambak and the Idjevan area were in the hands of the Russians prior to 1829.

Note the figures above, immigrant Armenians dominate both red and blue dyeing and spinning. Looms last a long time but two Immigrant Armenians were loom makers. The Russians did not record home industrty such as rug weaving but I am convinced that a huge numer of rugs were woven by Armenians from 1829 onwards. Now look again at thje maps. The area of major Armenian population growth was in an area that geography guided trade. If you were taking goods to market obviously you would not haul them at great risk to life and limb over snow covered peaks. The trade path funneled trade goods to Kazak and Gendge. So what do we call the Armenian rugs? Kazak and Gendge.

So while not all Kazak (and Gendge) rugs are Armenian I believe most of what we know as Kazak is Armenian

at the time of the Kameral'noe Opisanie

My information on the Kameral'noe Opisanie and population trends draws heavily on a book by George Bournoutian The Khanate of Erevan Under Qajar Rule 1795 - 1828. Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers in Association with Bibliotheca Persica, 1992. I called Professor Bournoutian on 11/26/03 and discussed my thoughts on this with him and he was in general agreement with my conclusions. So credit is due him but all the mistakes are mine.

Akstafa Guide to Antique Akstafa Rugs Borchalo Guide to Antique Bolnisi Bordjalou rugs Guide to Antique Bordjalu rugs Guide to Antique Karachopf Kazak Rugs Guide to Antique Lambalo Kazaks A Guide To Antique Pin-wheel Kazaks Chelaberti Guide To Antique Chelaberd Kazak Rugs Fachralo Guide to Antique Fachralo Kazak Rugs Antique Kazak Caucasian Rug 43820 with floral motif Antique Kazak Caucasian Rug 43818 with stunning colors Antique Kazak Caucasian Rug 43822 with colorful medallions Antique Kazak Caucasian Rug 43263 with a wavy center design  Antique Kazak Caucasian Rug 44563 with blue background Antique Kazak Caucasian Rug #44416 Antique Kazak Caucasian Rug 45173 with center filled with medallions Antique Kazak Caucasian Rug #43276 brilliant red background and large medallions Antique Kazak Caucasian Carpet 45188 with diamond motif Antique Kazak Caucasian Rug 45191 with reds, blues and greens in design Antique Kazak Caucasian Rug 44388 with striped band design Antique Kazak Rug 45137 with wonderful center medallion and gul design Antique Kazak Rug Late 19th C. Sotheby's Lot 23 Antique Kazak rug 19th C. Nagel Lot 31 Antique Kazak Prayer Rug w/hands Skinner's Lot 58 The Summers Antique Karabagh or Kazak Rug Antique Kazak Rug Sotheby's lot 48 Antique Kazak Rug Through The Collector's Eye Plate 20 - Rudnick Antique Kazak Rug Sotheby's lot 3 semi-antique Kurdish "Kazak" Nagel Lot 127 Antique Kazak Rug, lot 74 Antique Kazak Rug small cartouche pattern on an ivory field Antique Kazak Rug ca. 1850 Keshishian, Treasure of the Caucasus. pl. 21 Antique Kazak Rug from Rippon Boswell Karayazy Karayazy became Gardabani in 1947. Lambalo Antique Lambalo Kazak Rug mid 19th century from James C. Allen Antique Lambalo Kazak Rug Antique Kazak Rug Antique Kaimagly Lambalo Kazak Dated 1916 Antique Lambalo (?) Kazak Long Rug lot 222 Antique Kazak rug Lambalo (?) Antique Lambalo Kazak rug ca. 1900 Sotheby's Lambalo Kazak 4/10/80 Lot 13 Antique Lambalo Gardabani Kazak Rug Rippon-Boswell lot 18 The Purdon Antique Marneuli Kazak Rug Antique Kazak Prayer Rug 9/1/02 Sotheby's Lot 320 A Splendid Antique Kazak rug early 20th C. Nagel Lot 33 Antique Kazak Rug Antique Kazak rug 2/11/03 Sotheby's Lot 67 Antique Kazak rug 2/11/03 Sotheby's Lot 68 Idjevan (?) Antique Idjevan (?) Rug Antique Inscribed Dated Armenian Kazak Antique Hooked medallion Kazak Opposing Mihrabs Antique Kazak rug 19th C. Antique 8 pointed star medallion 19th c Kazak rug Antique Kazak Rug T-meander Borders Antique Kazak rug late 19th c. T-meander Border. Antique Fachralo Kazak Rug JP Willborg Antique 1904 Kazak Rug, Fachralo? Antique Early 20th c. Armenian Erivan Rug T-meander  border Colored Interstice Border Antique "Tree" Kazak Rug late 19th C. Antique Inscribed Dated Armenian Kazak Antique Kazak Three Medallion Rug dated 1871 - 72 Antique Kazak Prayer Rug Rippon Boswell Antique Late 19th century Karachov Kazak Antique Lori Pambak Rug Antique Unusual Lori Pambak Kazak Antique Eder pl. 24 Fachralo Prayer rug Antique Kazak rug, late 19th ct. Antique Kazak Rug, Lot 90 Antique Memling Gul Kazak rug Antique Memlinc Gul Kasak rug third quarter 19ct. Pinwheel Kazak Antique Guide To Pin-wheel Kazak Rugs Tree Kazaks Antique Tree Kazak Rug from The Burns Collection Antique "Tree" Kazak Rug late 19th C. Antique Bordjalou Tree Kazak rug Sotheby's lot 91 A Kazak Rug lot 41 A bird lattice Kazak rug 2nd half 19th c Link - LINK - ArmeniaFest - Kazak Rug - Looks like a Karabaugh to me. A Kazak rug, Armenia, 2nd half 19th c. Crab Border Antique Kasak rug 2nd half 19th ct. Antique Head and Sholders Kazak Rug Antique Late 19th C. Karachov Kazak rug Antique Kazak rug, lot 14 The Rittman Collection Antique Sewan Kazak Rug Antique Kazak long rug, circa 1890 lot 31 Talish Rosette Border Antique Lambalo Kazak Rug Antique Kazak rug Lambalo (?) Antique Karatchoph Kazak rug ca. 1850 Antique Kasak rug, ca. 1880 Nagel Auktionen Lot 126 Double S Border  Antique Kazak Double S Border rug 19th C.Nagel  Lot 72 Four Arrow Border Antique "picture book" Kazak Rug ca. 1850 Antique Double Niche Caucasian Prayer Rug Antique Karachopf Kazak Rug, The Alberto Levi Antique Sevan Kazak Rug Antique Kazak long rug lot 85 Shulaver? Antique Armenian Kazak Double Niche Prayer Rug Karachopf Kazak Rug with Structure Antique Karachopf Kazak Rug Antique Karachopt Kazak Rug Circa 1880 Antique Kazak rug, lot 14 The James C. Allen Antique Fachralo Kazak Prayer Rug #2 Star Kazak The Erikson Antique Type B Star Kazak Rug Antique Type B Star Kazak Rug w/structure Sotheby's Antique Eitzenberger Stern Kasak Orient Stars Antique Type A Star Kazak Antique Type C Star Kazak rug 3rd quarter 19th C. Sotheby's lot 96 The Emil MirzakhanianAntique Star' Kazak The Posubazaar Antique Star Kazak Antique Type C Star Kazak Rug from MICHAIL di David Sorgato Star Kazak Rug Christie's lot 7 Dec 96 A Yuruk rug with Star-Kasak type C design 19th c. Nagel Lot 16 The Bausback, Haliden and the Arditti are enough alike as to make me wonder if they are the same rug. The Haliden Type C Star Kazak Rug The Arditti ''Star'' Kazak Mid 19th C. The Franz Bausback Antique Type C Stern-Kasak Kaukasus Christie's http://www.christies.com A White Ground "Star" Kazak Rug, South Caucasus Sold for £196,250 February 2001 London, King Street Triple Medalion Kazaks Antique Kazak Three Medallion Rug dated 1871 - 72 Antique Kazak Triple Medallion Antique 3-Medallion Kazak Rug The Willborg 1850-1875 Antique Kazak Rug The James C. Allen Antique Step Medallion Kazak Rug Boteh Kazak Antique Kazak Rug Antique Boteh Kazak Rug lot 33 Prayer Rugs  Antique Kazak Prayer Rug ex Rippon Boswell Antique Kazak Prayer Rug with hands The Alberto Levi Antique Karachop Kazak prayer rug Hands and feet Caucasian Rugs: Antique Double Niche Caucasian Prayer Rug Antique Kazak Prayer Rug White prayernish à la Markarian Antique Armenian Kazak Double Niche Prayer Rug The Willborg Antique Armenian Kazak Prayer Rug Karachopf Kazak Rug Guide to Antique Karachopf Gardabani Rugs Lori Pambak Lori or Lori Pambak is a mountainous region of Armenia that borders upon Georgia. It has a population of 400,000 and is 97% Armenian. Lori - the third biggest region in Armenia. Antique Lori Pambak Kazak Rug Antique Lori Pambak Rug Antique Lori Pambak Rug Antique Lori-Pampak Kazak ca. 1900. Antique 19th c. Lori Pampak Kazak rug Unusual Antique Lori Pambak Kazak Antique Lori Pambak Kazak circa 1890 The Galerie Bieler Antique Lori Pambak Rug S-Bordüre/S Border Group  Antique Armenian Kazak South Caucasus early 20th c. ex Rippon Boswell  Antique Kasak mit weißer S-Bordüre Antique "S" Border Kazak 4/10/80 Sotheby's  Lot 18 The Uri Jacobi S BorderAntique  Kazak rug Sevan Kazak The Ed Krayer Sewan Kazak Rug Sevan is a town near Lake Sevan the highest freshwater lake in the Transcaucasus. It is ethnically Armenian in the heart of present day Armenia. The Alberto Antique Levi Sevan Kazak Antique Sewan Kazak Rug The Rittman Collection Antique Sewan Kazak Rug Link - LINK - Armenia 1999: Lake Sevan Link - LINK - Sevan, Lake - Britannica.com Link - LINK - Ramsar Bureau trip to Armenia's wetlands Link - LINK - ArmeniaFest - Sevan Kazak Design - closeup Schurmann Plate 14 Antique Sewan Kasak rug 19th C.Nagel  Lot 71 Shikli Notes on Antique Shikli/Shiki Rugs Shulaver Of alll the caucasian Rugs expect all Shulaver rugs to be antique, Even among Antique  Kazak rugs Shulaver rugs tend to be much older.Later Shulaver kazak rugs are there by suspect.  Shulaveri is a village of the Marneouli district of Georgia.Home of poetess Maro Margarian, 1915 -1999.Shulaveri is an Armenian town in Georgia. Link - LINK - 1 Report of Civil Monitoring Of the Presidential Decree #95 of 15 ... Antique Shulaver rug Kazak Region, late 19th c. Queen Alexandra's Antique Shulaver Kazak rug Antique Kazak long rug lot 85 Shulaver? An early 20th C. Shulaver Kazak rug The Purdon Antique Schulaver Kazak Rug

Antique Kazak Caucasian Rug 43820 with floral motif Antique Kazak Caucasian Rug 43263 with a wavy center design Antique Kazak Rug Antique Kazak Rug, lot 318 Orient Stars Antique Type A Star Kazak Rug

Typical Kazak Structure

Structure: Symmetrical. 40 to 60 kpsi. Not depressed.

Yarn Spin: Z.

Warp: most have 3 ply wool some 2, natural colored.

Weft: 2 – 6 shots of 2 ply wool. Usually red, Sometimes yellow, blue in late pieces.

Pile: 2 Wool singles.

Ends: Upper - often has plainweave with warp fringe. Lower - loops or half-hitch end finish.

Selvages: 2 – 4 warp units reinforced often using pile colors. Outer warp units are frequently attached interlaced warp units.

Similar Rugs

• Karabagh rugs are often very similar to Kazaks but tend to have fewer wefts usually two and the wefts are undyed.

• Turkish Kazaks are similar to Kazaks but have more subdued colors. Reds are much more muted.

Some Important Books and Articles on Caucasian Rugs:

Bennett, Ian et al. Oriental Rugs Volume 1 Caucasian.

Der Manuelian, L. and M. Eiland: Weavers, Merchants and Kings, Inscribed Rugs from Armenia

Kaffel, Ralph. Caucasian Prayer Rugs

Keshishian, James Mark. Inscribed Armenian Rugs of Yesteryear.

Schurmann, Ulrich. Caucasian Rugs.

Stone, P.F. Rugs of the Caucasus: Structure and Design.

Tschebull, Raoul. Kazak.

Togan, Z.V., The Origins of the Kazaks and the Ôzbeks, edited and translated by H.B. Paksoy

Links:

www.Jozan.net Kazak Rugs & Carpets

For Further Reading:

Thanks and best wishes,

J. Barry O'Connell Jr.

Index

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