How do people in Azeribaijan react to my notes; Read Kazak Rugs The Aykhan Mammadov Response
Map of the Kazak AreaKameral'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.
Typical Kazak StructureStructure: 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
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. 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. |
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