Karabagh - Chbukli Design

Dimensions: 357cm X 100 cm ( 11'9” x 3'4”)

Knots: symmetric

Density: V24/10cm H 24/10cm  576/dm² (6/6 pi  36/p.s.i)

Warps: medium thick tan wool, Z3S, no depression, flat back

Wefts: dark brown wool, Z2S,  3-4 shoots

Handle: floppy

Selvedges: not original

Ends: not original

Colours: natural dyes, white, madder red, bluish green, gold, azure and marine blue, dark and medium brown, camel.

Bands design of vertical rows of alternating faced boteh within a vine meander and smaller bands containing small squares. Bands design is not often encountered in Caucasian rugs. It's more a Turkish or Persian feature. Problems often encountered with Karabagh, lying just North of the Iranian-Soviet border and mostly inhabited by Armenians is that many rugs share designs with north-west Persian Kurdish rugs and Karadag Azerbaidjani-Turkish rugs, a district adjoining Moghan to the west.

So attribution of rugs with no popular designs may be sometimes cautious.

In design the shape of the boteh is “Caucasian", as is the drawing of the main border, that I have seen in some Kazak rugs. The structure points to Karabagh, in particular the use of Z3S tan wool warps and the dark brown Z2S wool wefts.

Closely related examples:

Bennett – Caucasian – plate 108 – same design in a prayer rug attributed to Karabagh.

Rippon Boswell – Auction catalogue – 23/05/98 – plate 131- attributed to Karabagh.

Picture and information courtesy of Belgium Collector Daniel  DSD.