Karabakh carpet

The Karabakh carpet is one of the varieties of carpets of Transcaucasia, made in the Armenian-controlled regions of Karabakh (de facto Artsakh, de jure Azerbaijan).

History
Carpet-weaving was historically a traditional profession for the female population of Karabakh, including many Armenian families, though there were prominent Karabakh carpet weavers among men too. The oldest extant Armenian carpet from the region, referred to as Artsakh during the medieval period, is from the village of Banants (near Gandzak, Armenia) and dates to the early thirteenth century. The first time that the Armenian word for pile carpet, gorg, was mentioned was in a 1242–43 Armenian inscription on the wall of the Kaptavan Church in Artsakh, whereas the Armenian word for “carpet” was first used in the fifth-century Armenian translation of the Bible.

Carpet-weaving in Karabakh especially developed in the second half of the nineteenth century, when the population of many areas in Karabakh was engaged in carpet-weaving, mainly for commercial sale purposes. At this time Shusha (Shushi) became the center of the Karabakh carpet-weaving.

Karabakh carpets motifs
The motifs of Garabagh carpets are unique in their original artistic value and originality. These carpets are built on the basis of the decorative approach of the subject on horizontal symmetry principle. Earlier in the Karabakh carpets, along with beautiful paintings, hunting was a baseline, and then it became apparent that interest in the carpet weeding hunt was reduced. There are almost no dynamic hunting scenes, but only attributes, symbols of hunting. This process is gradually deepening, and in the first quarter of the twentieth century, hunting disappeared as a subject, giving its place to one another only in terms of compositional images.

Ancient shadows ” Shadda ” carpets are built on the principle of primitive, horizontal symmetry, and many human and animal figures are replicated in parallel. Parasite carpets who lose interest in hunting hunting are using this artistic principle. For example: At the end of the XIX century in Karabakh, “Atli-itli”, “Itli-Piqikli”, “Marali-Ceyranli” etc. Pile carpets are woven. This composition is horizontally striped with animal images.

The hero of the folk epic, the great poet of the East, Firdovsi ‘s poem ” Shahname “, is especially remarkable Garabagh carpets dedicated to Rustam’s hero Rustam. Rustam and Shohrab carpets series are well-deserved in the folk spirit of traditional compositions for miniature painting. These are folk carpets art is a pearl of the essence of the word.

In Garabagh school, plotted carpet weaving developed in a unique style. This carpet weaving art, which is free from the description of Western European painting, has established the ancient artistic principles of the organization of decorative applied art that goes to the depths of the centuries, to the people’s psychology. Strongly refusing to interpret the motives in motifs in many figure compositions is the intensification of graphic interpretation of symbolism and life events- these are North Azerbaijan, especially in Karabakh carpets.

Types
Besides usual carpets, carpet bags and coverlets of different types were widely spread. These included pileless məfrəş (translit. mafrash, a trunk); xurcun (translit. khurdjun, a doubled travel bag); heybə (translit. heiba, travelling bag); çuval (transli. chuval, sacks for holding loose products); çul (chul, all kinds of coverlets); yəhər üstü (translit. yahar ustu, saddle cover) and other objects.

Armenian
Art historian Hravard Hakobyan notes that “Artsakh carpets occupy a special place in the history of Armenian carpet-making.” Common themes and patterns found on Armenian carpets were the depiction of dragons and eagles. They were diverse in style, rich in color and ornamental motifs, and were even separated in categories depending on what sort of animals were depicted on them, such as artsvagorgs (eagle-carpets), vishapagorgs (dragon-carpets) and otsagorgs (serpent-carpets). The rug mentioned in the Kaptavan inscription is composed of three arches, “covered with vegatative ornaments”, and bears an artistic resemblance to the illuminated manuscripts produced in Artsakh.

That the art of carpet weaving was intimately tied to the making of curtains is indicated in a passage by Kirakos Gandzaketsi, a thirteenth-century Armenian historian from Artsakh, who praised Arzu-Khatun, the wife of regional prince Vakhtang Khachenatsi, and her daughters for their expertise and skill in weaving.

Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan carpets are traditionally divided into four types, so-called “carpet schools”, all of which have distinct characteristics. These carpet schools are: 1) Guba-Shirvan with manufacturing centers in Guba, Shirvan region and Baku; 2) Ganje-Kazakh, with centers in Ganje town and Kazakh region; 3) Karabakh (with major centers in Shusha, surrounding villages; and 4) Tabriz with centers in Tabriz and Ardebil in South (Iranian) Azerbaijan.The carpets from various regional types differ by three features: ornaments, manufacturing technique and the kind of article in question. Karabakh carpets comprise 33 different compositions in total. Some of them were partly borrowed from the Tabriz and Iranian carpet schools, some are completely original.

The Karabakh or Qarabagh carpet school developed in two areas: in lowland and mountainous parts of Karabakh. The last one often and the most renowned one is often called “the Shusha carpet group”. Besides Shusha, the surrounding villages of Dashbulag, Dovshanly, Girov, Terniviz, Malibayli, Chanakcha, Tun, Tuglar, Hadrut, Muradkhanly, Gasimushagi, Gubatly, Gozag, Mirseid, Bagirbeyli, Khanlig, Tutmas were also known for their rugs. Each village developed original design and ornaments and had specific characterization which distinguished them from one village to another . In lowlands carpet manufacturing was based in Jabrayil, Horadiz, Barda and Agdam (most notably, Lambaran village).

Karabakh was famous for its pileless carpets,starting with traditional Turkic Kilim it slowly evolved into different more elaborate types of ornaments such as shadda, zili, verni and palas products. High artistic taste is typical also for Karabakh jejims from the Lambaran village (near present-day Agdam). Jejims were a popular decoration material for house interiors and were used in Karabakh for producing pillows and pillowcases, tablecloths, curtains, coverlets. Besides usual carpets, carpet bags and coverlets of different types were widely spread. These included pileless mafrash (a trunk); khurdjun (a doubled travel bag); heiba (travelling bag); chuval (sacks for holding loose products); chul (all kinds of coverlets); yahar ustu (saddle cover) and other objects.

Carpet-weaving in Karabakh especially developed beginning from the second half of the 19th century, when the population of many areas in Karabakh was engaged in carpet-weaving, mainly for commercial sale purposes. At this time Shusha became the center of the Karabakh carpet-weaving.Karabakh and Shusha carpets have greatly influenced the Nakhchivan and Zangezur schools of carpets. Some experts actually consider these schools to be sub-categories of the Karabakh carpet school.Shusha‘s carpet-weavers, Meshedi Bayram Gurban-oglu, Djabbar Haji Akber-oglu, Fatima Aga Sherif-gizi, Ahmed Dashdamir-oglu participated and were awarded prizes in an international show in Paris in 1867. Shusha carpets also received awards in 1872 in Moscow Polytechnic Exhibition.

Horn carpet
The carpets, called “horns,” belong to Garabagh type. They are produced at different carpet webs in Nagorno-Karabakh. The old carpet artists in Karabakh call the “Horn” carpet as Horadiz. In Central Asia and the Middle East, as well as sheep, oxen, and goats in Azerbaijan were considered sacred animals. Previously, “Hornbeam” had different symbols and imaginations with agriculture, product, then totemism, and later astronomical concepts. The bull, which symbolizes strength and courage, simultaneously embodies the God of water and agriculture, symbolizing the “sky forces”. The composition of the middle part of the carpet is composed entirely of stylized horns. Similar shaped elements, which form the middle area of ​​the “Horn” carpets, ornaments create a horizontal line, one after the other, according to the art tradition and generally accepted rules. The asymmetrical structure of these “horns” revives the carpet on the one hand and, on the other hand, allows the carpets to weave at any size. Different shapes that form the main element of the carpet, gathered around these “horns,” play the role of filler in this composition.

Fish carpet
Carpet Carpet This carpet is one of the most widely spread carpets of the Karabakh type. In the north of our country “Fish” is known, and in Iran it is known as “Mohy”. Despite the fact that Baliq carpet was produced in Karabakh at all carpet webs, its main production center was Barda. From the second half of the XVIII century the “Fish” carpet was also produced in Shusha. Approximately 35 percent of the carpets and carpets produced in the city of Shusha in the second half of the 19th century belonged to the Baikal type. The famous “Eag”, “Knife”, “Mustophi” and other carpets were basically touched on the description of “Fish”. The “Fish” composition is subject to the same principle, and its spirals are located in short distances. The spiral’s bent bends are sometimes long-shaped, reminding the “Fish” image,

Karabakh carpet
Carpets known as Garabagh have been produced and are currently being produced in all carpet weavers in Azerbaijan. Depending on the place of production, these carpets are called by different names, but artisans call these carpets “Garabagh”. These composite carpets, produced in the 19th century for sale to the Istanbul markets in Shusha, were renamed as “Khan” or “Khan Qarabagh”, and the carpets woven in Guba were called Africa. Carpets known as Garabagh are of several types:

1. The composition of the middle field, consisting of several medallions, is reminiscent of basically embroidered curtains of Iranian and Indian art pieces. These medallions decorated with plant elements can be found on the cover of the Koran and literary and artistic works created by the Tabriz artists of the XV-XVII century. The top and bottom of the medallions fill the gap between the medallions and the midfield.
2. Among the carpet weavers there are also carpets “Garabagh”, which are called “Tin-Condiment”. The composition of these carpets is composed of octagonal medallions located in a row.
Khanlig carpet
Khanate is the most famous carpet-weaving station in Azerbaijan. The carpets we produce here are beautiful examples of works of art, and they always remain. They are selected with high quality. The carpets produced in Jabrayil, especially in the Mirzendanli, Efendilar, Dashkasan, Suleymanli villages of the XIX century, were considered more beautiful than carpets exported to the world market and caravanserai. The middle floor area of ​​the “Khanlik” carpet is large. In the upper and lower parts of it are two gubas, and the four corners of the middle area are symmetrically placed petals. The strips characteristic of the “Khanlik” carpet consist of strips. The original samples of “Khanlik” carpets reflect the complex composite point woven with special order. For example,

Gasimushagi carpet
The name of the carpet carpet is connected with the name of the population of Shamkand , Aprikli , Kurdhachi , Corman and Selva villages located in the north of the present Lachin region . Qasim Haji Sam was a respected person who lived here without a doubt. In these villages, high carpets were produced.

The composition of the middle part of the carpets “Qasu-ushagi” is original from the point of view of art and consists of different details and elements. The center of the carpet contains a large medallion surrounded by borders. In the center of the medallion there is a four-pointed medallion (khon). Branches split into four sides from the lake side. At the top and bottom of the middle field, there are several large “goals” that come out of the center medallion, similar to branches. Among these lakes (in the upper and lower part of the large lake), there is only a cup that is unique to these carpets and harmonizes the overall drawing of the embroidery.

Bahmanli carpet
The name of this carpet is related to the name of the village of Boyuk Bahmanli in the present Fuzuli district. The middle composition of the “Bahmanli” carpet is made up of original shaped figures. One or two figures in the middle field are particularly interesting. According to the predictions of the old carpet, these figures refer to “sculpture”, “barbecue” or “lace” (pink), while others refer to the logotype. It is possible to conclude that these figures, similar to animal figures, are related to the description of the pupil of a certain tribe.

ABC Carpet
This carpet belongs to the Shirvan group, and its technical part belongs to Garabagh type. In Azerbaijan, 17 villages are named Mughan: Mughan Ganjali, Mughanli, Mughani, Mehrab and Mughani. But carpets are known as Mughan and Moqan, located in the south-eastern part of Azerbaijan. In the X-th century “Humorous Hand Alim” works of Mughana are marked by a great deal of palaz and sacks. Among the carpets, these carpets, which are called “Old Patterns,” are largely corrugated. It is also possible to see these carpets in the carpet culture of Azerbaijan and their roots in the past, as well as in Central Asia and Afghanistan carpets.

Talish carpet
This carpet belongs to the region extending from the shores of the Caspian Sea to the Talysh range. Under the name “Talysh” the carpet of the tan, the middle field composition is simple and complicated. Talysh carpets were previously woven with silk threads, and in the third quarter of the 19th century they began to produce wool and cotton fibers. The carpets have a simple composition decorated with a rough, smooth finish medium or small element in terms of fabric. Composite carpets are referred to as “baklava pattern”, which are long-haired carpets. This gelling, which is different from one another, is identical to the shape and color, creating an original art composition.

Nakhchivan carpet
These carpets are mainly produced in the Nashchyvan carpet-weaving centers and the Norashen, Shahbuz, Kolani villages, as well as in the carpet-making stations of Julfa and Ordubad. Nakhchivan is one of the oldest cities in Azerbaijan. In the 9th-10th centuries the city was famous for its rugs and carpets, and in the X-XII century it was known as the center of production of artistic metalware. At the end of the XVI century – the famous Turkish traveler Avliya Chalabi, who lived in the early XVII century, during his visit to Nakhchivan, he named this city “Nakimahan” and praised his architectural monuments and art centers in his works. Carpets made from carpet weaving of Nakhchivan differ according to the patterns of patterns, all under the name “Nakhchivan”.

Chalabi carpet
For the first time this carpet was produced in the village of Celebi . The composition and composition of the patterns of “Chalabi” carpets were formed and perfected in this village, later they were produced in Nagorno-Karabakh, Aranda, and in the XIX century in Gazakh district carpet weaving. The composition of the middle section of the “Chalabi” carpet is one or more large medallions. Usually they are 80-150 cm in size. These medallions are made up of 16 petals and are similar to the medallions of curved lines created by professional artists of XIV-XVI centuries, and later lost their original appearance during techno-logical processes. Appearance and adoption are characteristic of the XVIII century carpet found at Bibi-Heyber mosque.

Museums
Some of the famous Karabakh carpets are presently kept in various museums of the world. A Karabakh silk carpet (zili) of the 16th or 17th century made in Barda is currently kept in Berlin in the Museum of Arts. The Boston Museum of Fine Arts holds a Shusha carpet of the 18th century. US Museum of Textiles possesses a Shusha carpet of the 18th century, called “Afshan”, and the Metropolitan museum in New York has in its collection a Karabakh carpet of “Verni” group. A unique collection of Shusha and Karabakh carpets is currently kept in the State Museum of Carpet in Baku, Azerbaijan. Most of the collection in this museum was originally kept in Shusha Carpet Museum. In 1992 not long before the town’s occupation by the Armenian military forces, the Shusha museum’s director, arranged for 600 carpets to be evacuated from the town in army vehicles. Today the carpets can be found at the Baku museum in an exhibition titled “Burnt Culture.”