ARARAT RUGS

This offset pattern is composed of leaves and lotus palmettes filling the various compartments against the imposing ground, while heraldic lions rear across the strapwork borders. On...

The source of the rug comes from the book How to Read - Islamic Carpets, Walter B. Denny, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2014 fig.87. This is a domestic carpet, village, and nomadic weaving in the late 19th century in the Shirvan region, Caucasus. There are three principal designs for rugs attributed to Konagkend ( Konakkent or Konakhend ). The first has a large cruciform medallion, the second, called by Kerimov and Schürmann ‘Ordutch-Konagkend’, has a series of large octagons, and the third, and probably best known, has a stiff, angular lattice based on hexagonal forms. Each type has a quite different aesthetic appeal and in each case, the design is reminiscent of other rugs. The cruciform medallion type usually has a bright, light palette and in both color and design is reminiscent of Kurdish weavings and certain Turkish village rugs. The ‘Ordutch-Konagkend’ pieces have strong affinities with Baku and other north Shirvan rugs, and the lattice type is the closest to the concept of design most normally associated with Kuba as well as having links with earlier groups of, principally Turkish, carpets. This is an example of nomadic and village weaving often attaining a level of great artistry, exhibiting an almost breathtaking command of technique along with a marvelous sense of color, proportion, and artistic balance...