"Antique South Caucasian Shirvan Kilim, Banded Design and Fine Weave, circa 1880

Antique South Caucasian Shirvan kilim of outstanding colour and traditional design. A very good example of type, with banded a banded design and hooked medallions, the rich colour p...

A superb example of a Shirvan runner with multi coloured lattice design, framed by a classic Caucasian 'leaf and wine glass' border on an ivory ground. The rug is of a fine weave wit...

An antique Caucasian Kuba region Shirvan runner, with all over large boteh design. The indigo field is filled with large boteh, flowers, stars and tribal design elements; there is even a row of small animals crossing...

A very good old South Caucasian Shirvan rug, with a design inspired by Seichur palmette rugs from the Kuba region. A superb example of Shirvan village weaving, rich natural colour...

Size: 5ft 4in x 3ft 5in (162 x 103cm). Antique Caucasian Shirvan prayer rug with floral lattice on an ivory ground. Circa 1880 A good example of this well known group of prayer ru...

Antique South East Caucasian Shirvan rug with 'gymyl' design, often known as the dragon motif. The rug is a good example with bold design and striking contrast of colours, the ivory ...

Kilim, a word of Turkish origin, denotes a pileless textile of many uses produced by one of several flat-weaving techniques that have a common or closely related heritage and are practiced in the geographical area that includes parts of Turkey (Anatolia and Thrace), North Africa, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Central Asia and China. Kilims are generally woven with the slitweave technique. The slit refers to the gap left between two blocks of color. It is created by returning the weft around the last warp in a color area, and the weft of the adjacent color is later returned around the adjacent warp. The major difference between a kilim area rug and a carpet or a pile rug is that whereas the design visible on a pile rug is made by individual short strands of different color being knotted onto the warps and held together by pressing the wefts tightly, kilim designs are made by interweaving the variously colored wefts and warps, thus creating what is known as a flat-weave. Weavers pack the weft tightly to completely cover the warp and often favor diagonal patterns so as to avoid weakening the structure of the rug with vertical slits. It produces bold, sharp patterns that weavers enjoy creating with more freedom allowed than a plainweave. This is also why kilims are so closely associated with geometrical designs even though there are kilims with floral designs as well. This lovely antique Shirvan Caucasian Kilim...

Perhaps the most unique Caucasian in our collection, this Shirvan rug is distinguished with all others as having an original silk siding! Handwoven in the town of Shirvan, one of the principal weaving areas of the Caucasus, this rug is extremely tight knotted ,one might think is only possible if it had silk foundation not wool. This handsome accent piece with all organic dyes have that famous "Arminian red" field with dyes extracted from the pomegranate skin. Although not in great condition, one may want to avoid repairing it for fear of losing...

A lovely small Caucasian Shirvan handwoven rug, circa 1880. The central field filled with a myriad of designs, hidden away is also depictions of animals that as a special interest to...

Antique Caucasian Shirvan rug, circa 1880. The navy field divided into diamonds enclosing flower heads within traditional Shirvan multiple borders framing the rug. These types of ant...

Antique Caucasian Shirvan rug, circa 1880. These types of antique Caucasian rugs were woven in the eastern part of the region, mostly along the west coast of the Caspian Sea and show...

Antique Caucasian Shirvan rug, circa 1880. The field of soft blues with three central motifs all filled with floral and ethnic designs and enclosed within the typical Caucasian multi...