Kuba Shield-Like Palmettes

Age: dated 1321 = 1899 A.D

Dimension: 395cm x 190; 13ft by 6ft

Knots: symmetric, slightly open to the right, shortly clipped.

Density: H 36/10cm  X V 32/10cm  1152/dm²;  H9/V8 pi  72/psi

Warps: thin tan and light brown wool, Z2S, slightly depressed

Wefts: tan wool, 2 and 3 shoots

Selvedges: flat selvage of two cords of two warps wrapped with interwoven ground wefts and overcast with white cotton.

Ends: 1 cm plain weave ends and knotted fringes

Colours: dark blue, azure, very light blue, gold, olive, medium green, madder red, aniline red in two rows of palmettes in the middle part of the rug and in the top outer minor border, black, beige, medium and deep brown, natural orange, and chemical orange in the lower half part.

It seems this rug was woven by two different weavers as the palette of colors differ in the upper and lower half part of the rug.

This very nice rug has an all over design of shield-like lotus palmettes reminiscent of 18th century rugs and Karabagh rugs described by Bennett (Caucasian – plate 118-119-120). Each palmette contains a very nice and well-drawn peacock with two eyes and three fingers or a totemic motif and a stylized quadruped. At the bottom of each shield-like palmette (at the right side) there is a small octagonal medallion of the same type as the outer minor border or with a dotted rendering. To obtain this dotted rendering the weaver used twisted wool of two different colors.

The main border is reminiscent of 18th century floral borders of rugs in dragon rug technique. (Murray Eiland: Oriental rugs from Pacific Collection- page 171) and also of the “narcissus” Border from Baluch rugs (Bennett - Caucasian – picture 250-251-252).

The very nice and exceptionally well drawn “bar and stars” inner minor border (reminiscent of more floral type – Bennett plate 363 – Jenny Housego plate 82) and the octagonal motifs of the outer minor border are widely used through the Caucasus and North Persia.

The overall polychrome and the use of natural orange are strongly reminiscent of Kurdish weaving from North West Persia.

As I found only one picture of a closely related example in Sotheby's auction catalogue (London – 29/04/98) labeled Kuba runner, I think the design is rare. Sotheby's Kuba runner measures 487cm x 112cm; 16ft by 3ft. 8in. It has on a dark blue ground the same all over design of shield-like lotus palmettes containing as in my rug totemic motifs or stylized quadrupeds (no peacocks) animals and the same palette of colors. It has a Kufic main border and two minor borders containing a on a blue ground a small shrub and flower meandering design often found in North Caucasian rugs, and in Kuba rugs in particularly. It also contains 5 octagonal or rectangular medallions, one of them being reproduced on the cover of the catalogue.

As in my rug, at the bottom of each shield-like palmette (at the right side) there is a small octagonal medallion of the same type as the outer minor border of my rug or with a dotted rendering. It looks that they also used twisted wool yarns of two different shade (look at the cover of the catalogue). It seems that this rug has blue sumac stitch ends and braided or knotted fringes.

Picture and information courtesy of Belgium Collector Daniel  DSD.