From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Kuba rugs and carpets
Kuba rugs and carpets
Kuba rugs and carpets are named for a town that is locat- vans and Dagestans by dense, ribbed structure and high-
ed within the Daghestan region of Caucasus not far from er knot count.10
the Caspian Sea; therefore, making Kubas a sub-division The Kuba school that includes the Gonagkend and
of Caucasian carpets.1 Kuba is at once a city and an area Divichi districts covers up to 35 pattern compositions of
that was formerly a Khanate (the equivalent to a state the carpets. Kuba is an historical region hosting pleni-
region in the traditional Persian system) of Azerbaijan.2 tude of various tribes. Even now the region is populated
Within the Kuba genre itself, there exist many subdivi- by ethnic groups that speak different languages, among
sions including: Alpan-Kuba, Karagashli, Konaghend, Chi them Azerbaijanis, Lezghins, Tats, Budugs, Gyryzys and
Chi, Perepedil, Seychour and Zejwa.3 others. The Kuba carpets are remarkable for a wide va-
riety of designs, which may differ even from village to
Design village. The ornamental pattern is characterized by geo-
metrical and vegetal motifs, most of them stylized. These
Kuba rugs are highly desired. Among the more popular include Gyryz, Gymyl, Gonakend, Shahnezerli and other
types of Kubas are Chi-Chi and Konaghend patterns, carpets. On the face of it, the ornamental pattern in the
which are coveted by collectors. Noted for their detailed Kuba carpet group may appear to be too mixed and var-
and tightly woven design, Kuba rugs are prized as the ied. However, on closer examination it becomes evident
finest of all Caucasian rugs.4 Some medallion patterns are that all ornaments in the composition strictly follow a
used, but Kuba rugs and carpets have hundreds of designs common design.
and do not utilize medallions as often as other regions’
rugs.5
Carpet types
History Kuba
During the 1920’s, rugs of the Caucasus were greatly ex- The composition of the center field consists mainly of
ported to the West in large quantity along with many old- several gels and ketebe, which come one after another
er pieces that had been used in Russia.6 along the main axis in the vertical direction. Around
these, there are scattered a lot of larger and smaller ele-
Materials and Structure ments of different forms. Such elements can be encoun-
tered not only in the Kuba group carpets, but also in Shir-
Rugs from the Kuba region are made from wool, though van, Baku and even Kazakh carpets with various compo-
cotton is also used on rare occasion. The wool is always sitions. The center field of such a compositions is viewed
composed of two strands, making it 2-ply. Warp will vary as “achig yerli”. i.e. open or non-closed background. The
according to region, but ply consistently remains 2-ply. Kuba carpet border ornamental patterns include various
Kuba rugs in general are woven using a single-warp stripes, among them a center edge, a smaller edge,
method: the warp threads lie along the same level, as medahils. The element that serves as the prime orna-
opposed to depressed warp where the warp threads al- ment and constitutes the rapport of the edge, is referred
ternate between are sunken and raised. Oftentimes the to by the weavers as “tongal”, i.e. bonfire. Such a name
depressed threads are lowered as much as 75%.7 The can be assumed to be related to the ancient fire-worship-
threads are symmetrically knotted and the sides of Kuba per’s beliefs. The color of the Kuba group carpets back-
rugs are finished with a blue or white selvage of wool or ground is most often dark-navy blue or dark-sky blue.
cotton.8 The warp ends are tied together in several rows
of knots. Kehna Kuba
The composition of the center field of this red back-
Shirvans and Dagestans ground carpet consists of three large octagonal medal-
lions, which are lined up in the vertical direction. The
The Shirvan region, which is part of Azerbaijan, lays in
medallions are of the same color, form and size. The
Southern Caucasus where the mountain chain descends
medallions are set off by a rather narrow edge, which
into the Caspian Sea. Historically, the rugs made in Kuba,
at the same time goes from the center field towards the
Baku and Dagestan were also encompassed under the
border of the carpet. The edge itself is also one of the
term Shirvan. 9 Kubas can be differentiated from Shir-
stripes in the overall border edge. In the center of the
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Kuba rugs and carpets
Antique Kuba Caucasus Runner
medallions there are small octagons framed by ornamen-
tal patterns (medahil and koshajag). The center field is
surrounded by a common border, which consists of eight
stripes.
Alpan
The Alpan carpets derive their name from the village of
Alpan near the Susachai river. The composition of this
carpet is widely spread in the villages of Susai and Sabat.
Since the second half of the 19th century it was also
picked up by carpet workshops of the Gusary district.
Among the experts this carpet is also known as “Kuba”,
“Dagestan”. The ornamental pattern is characterized by
geometrical and vegetal motifs, most of them stylized.
The medallions of the Kuba group carpets have a more
intricate form as compared to carpets of other regions.
The composition is based on gels and “hercheng” (“craw-
fish”) – the elements that surround the medallions cor-
nerwise. The Alpan carpet weavers refer to the medium-
size gels as “charhovuz” (“pool”), while the minute el-
ements inside the gel are called “ordek” (“ducks”). The
rest of the center field contains stylized geometrical and
vegetal elements of various forms. The dominant colors
are dark-green and yellow hues. The carpet is notable for
its high degree thickness and exquisite ornamental pat-
tern.
Hyrdagul Chichi
The carpet is made in weaving centers of Kuba. The car-
pet is named “Hyrdagul Chichi” because the center field
consists of minute elements that are called “hyrdagul”
(“tiny flowers”). The overall composition of the center
field is formed by several short rapports along the hori-
zontal and vertical axes. These rapports contain a num-
ber of minute elements that are meant to fill, connect
and substitute. The main element of the composition is
known as “bashmag”, being a stylized leaf. Each of the
rest of the elements serve as a beginning or the center of
the rapport. The carpet is framed by a border consisting
of one center edge, two edges and a jag.
Alchagul Chichi
This carpet belongs to the village of Derechichi, Kuba
district. While the rug weavers call it “Alchagul Chichi“,
among the carpet experts it is known as “Chichi”. The
carpets manufactured in Nabur, Shemakha, Alchiman,
Shirvan (where they were influenced by technological
and artistic trends) are named “Shirvan Chichi”. The
composition of the center field is mainly filled by the ele-
ments “Alchagul Chichi “. These recurring elements form
horizontal and vertical rows. The border stripe consists
of various width stripes, including jag, medahil, zenjira.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Kuba rugs and carpets
Their ornamental pattern is characterized by geometri- Garagashly
cal and vegetal motifs, most of them stylized and distin-
The famous carpet Garagashly of the Kuba group is made
guished by high thickness and exquisiteness. The plia-
in the villages of Haji-Garagashly, Chai-Garagashly and
bility of the design and emotional expressiveness of the
Susanly-Garahashly of the Divichi district. On the center
form and color are intended to convey the joyous per-
field along the vertical axis there are small medallions.
ception of life. The artistic effect is further intensified
The oldest carpet weavers and experts believe that these
through rhythm, symmetry and a clearly expressed com-
medallions depict “musical instruments”. Between the
position, all of them following a common harmony.
medallions there are elements of various types, colloqui-
ally named “gushbashy”(“bird’s head”). The typical color
Syrt Chichi of the Garagashly center field background is dark-navy
The Syrt Chichi carpet belongs to the village of blue or dark-red. In rare cases one can Garagashly car-
Derechichi. Among the arts and carpet experts it is also pets with a dark-sky blue or white background. The orna-
known as “Chichi”. The carpets manufactured in Nabur, mental pattern is characterized by geometrical and veg-
Shemakha, Alchiman, Shirvan (where they were influ- etal motifs, most of them being stylized and notable for
enced by technological and artistic trends) are named their high thickness and exquisiteness.
“Shirvan Chichi”. The composition of the center field is
mainly filled by the elements “Syrt Chichi “.These re- Shakhnazarli
curring elements form horizontal and vertical rows. The
The name comes from the name of the village of
border stripe consists of various width stripes, including
Shakhnazerli. This type of the carpet includes 35 compo-
jag, medahil, zenjira.
sitions. In spite of the fact that the Shakhnazarli carpet
production centers are the villages of Shakhnazerli,
Golu Chichi Melkham, Geylere, Gonakend, it was also made in the vil-
The Syrt Chichi carpet belongs to the village of lages of the Kuba, Shemakha and Agsu districts. The com-
Derechichi. Among the arts and carpet experts it is also position of the center field is mainly formed by several
known as “Chichi”. The carpets manufactured in Nabur, gels placed along the vertical axis. Typically to this car-
Shemakha, Alchiman, Shirvan (where they were influ- pet, within the center field there are two gubps or two
enced by technological and artistic trends) are named bashlyg, one of them in the bottom part, at the begin-
“Shirvan Chichi”. The composition of the center field is ning of the first gel, while the second one – in the upper
mainly filled by the elements “Syrt Chichi “.These re- part, at the end of the last gel. These gubps, heavily styl-
curring elements form horizontal and vertical rows. The ized, not only impart completeness and final shape to the
border stripe consists of various width stripes, including gels, but also perfect the composition of the center field
jag, medahil, zenjira. and improve the grouping of the gels. In Azerbaijan and
in Central Asia, the folk rug makers and craftsmen call
Gymyl any carpet with lots of medallions “Gellu”, irrespective of
Gymyl was first woven in Gabala in the 14th-15th cen- the composition. These gels, most of them of an octago-
turies. Later, beginning with the 18th century, it spread nal shape and decorated by an edge or small squares, by
over to Kuba and individual carpet workshops of the Ku- virtue of their simplicity and vivid colors differ signifi-
ba district. As a result, moving further away from the vil- cantly from the gels of the Kazakh, Karabakh abd South-
lage of Gymyl the carpet gradually lost its artistic val- Azerbaijan carpets. The highly stylized gubps make the
ues and underwent a number of distortions. In the mid- carpet look complete, improve the composition and help
dle of the center field there is a polygonal oblong medal- in grouping the gels. The high thickness, rich decoration
lion. This medallion used to be called “khoncha”, how- of the ornamental pattern, delicate weaving constitute
ever in the second half of the 19th century it became characteristic features of this carpet group.
widely known among the carpet weavers under the name
“tray”. Typically to this composition, to the top and bot- Great Pirebedil
tom of the medallion there are four large polygonal el- Historically, this carpet was first made in the 15th cen-
ements, which are called “sham” (“candle”, “lantern”). tury in the town of Great in Afghanistan. Later, it spread
The composition of the center field of the Gymyl carpet is in the southern regions of Azerbaijan, under different
formed by the stylized images of a whole range of objects names. In particular, it known as “Balyg” in Karabakh.
and decorations. It resembles a picture of a wedding or a
feast. Pirebedil
This carpet derives it name from the village of Pirebedil.
The local carpet makers call this carpet “Burma”, “Gyr-
man”, sometimes “Gaichi”. Some of the oldest carpet
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Kuba rugs and carpets
weavers and arts experts refer to it as “Migradi” or pletely different from the Khorasan carpets, which are
“Grou”, which is a modification of the Arab word “men- believed to be their prototype. The main composition of
rou” (“scissors”). To the left and right of the center field the Gonakend carpet is formed by a large medallion lo-
there is an element that is typical only to this carpet type cated in the middle of the center field. Inside the medal-
and resembles scissors by its shape. The Pirebedil car- lion, there are 8 small crosses arranged centrally. The
pets are more ancient than any other Azerbaijani carpet. medallions are decorated by the elements of the geo-
The basic elements are “gaichi” or “buinuzu” (“horns”) metrical lines, which resemble images of some primitive
on the left and right sides of the carpet as a symbol hero- farm tools. This carpet looks significantly different from
ism and courage, an image of a turkey cock in the middle its ancestor and is now ranked among the national Azer-
of the center field and along its edge line, leaves of fruit baijani carpets. Due to the expansion of trade-fairs in the
trees and octagonal gels. Typically, the color of the back- 18th century and especially in the second half of the 20th
ground of the center field is dark-navy blue or dark-red. century, the composition of this carpet began to be used
in the flat-woven large-size carpets.
Zeiva
This carpet derives its name from the village of Zeiva Gedim Minare
to the SE of Kuba. In foreign sources it is referred to as In the center field composition the element “zenjire”,
the Shirvan carpet. It is also known under the name of otherwise called “daragy”, is placed from the left and
“Gadym Zeiva”. The typical composition of the center right sides towards the central axis and forms several
field of the Zeiva includes a sequence of a number of new squares or quadrangles. These new square or quad-
gels along the central axis. By their shape and origin rangular surfaces in most cases are covered by a mesh of
these gels, which form the main element of the Zeiva small squares in black, red or white. The background of
carpet and are reproducible entirely by dotted lines, can the middle field is normally dark-navy blue or red.
be attributed to the Middle Age period. These gels come
of various types and are encountered in the decorative Ugah
art no only in the Caucasus but also in the Baltic states, The Ugah carpets derive their names from the village of
where they are most typical to the art of carpet weaving Ugah not far away from Kuba. The composition of the
and embroidery. Around these gels, in an asymmetrical center field consists of short length rapports and is cov-
arrangement there are various filling elements called ered by vegetal elements of only one shape. People call it
“sakkizbujagly”, “garmagly”, “alma”. Typically, the cen- “takhang” (“grape leaf”). It represents the main element
ter field background color is dark-red, dark-navy blue, of the carpet and is placed at the points of the intersec-
beige. tions of the lines that mark the beginning and the cen-
ter of the rapports, i.e. the lines, which form the grid of
Alikhanly the squares. The more rapports are arranged lengthwise
The Alikhanly carpet is included into the Kuba group of and crosswise, i.e. the larger the carpet size the lower the
the Kuba-Shirvan type. The name is derived from the vil- carpet’s artistic value. The origin of the border stripes
lage of Alikhanly in the Siazan district. This carpet is al- motifs goes back to vegetal ornamental patterns, adopt-
so made in the NE Azerbvaijan, namely in the Devechi ed from the patterns used in various fields of the decora-
district. In his “Gulustan Irem” A. Bakikhanov associates tive and applied arts. The center edge called by the car-
the name of the village of Alikhanly with the wall “Al- pet weavers “chichekli” can be also found in Karabakh
gon” and assumes that its actual name is “Algonly”. He carpets “Nelbeki-gul”. As to the colors, the background of
gives the following explanation: “This wall was built by this carpet is dark-brown or dark cobalt.
Isfandiyar (the 6th century BC), and restored by
Anushirivan (the 4th century)”. The center field compo- Yerfi
sition is mainly made of several large gels, placed one af- This carpet derives its name from the village of Yerfi. It
ter the other long the central vertical axis. The gels shape also is produced in the villages of Nokhurduzu, Gayadal-
is curve-linear and toothed. In the center field of the car- ly, Dark, Talysh, Hyrt, Garabulag. Some experts believe
pet, along its horizontal axis there are one, two or, in rare that this is the Shirvan carpet. The oldest craftsmen also
instances, three gels. The ornamental pattern consists of refer to it as “Heymegah” (“ a place for setting up a
intricate motifs represented by broken lines. These mo- tent”). The elements of the center field of the Yerfi car-
tifs were created by the Middle Ages carpet craftsmen. pets are arranged along small vertical axes. The center
field décor consists mainly of two principal elements of
Gonagkend different shapes, each forming a separate horizontal line.
The Gonagkend carpets were made in the 18th-19th cen- The first row is formed by the elements of the “sachagly-
turies. Their artistic and decorative features were gradu- lar” group (fringed), which more often are encountered
ally modified and as a result the carpets now look com- in the Shirvan carpet group. The second row features the
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Kuba rugs and carpets
elements called “chadyr”(“A tent”), which is considered makha, Alchiman, Shirvan, where they underwent local
to be the main gel (medallion) of the carpet. These ele- technological and artistic modifications. The composi-
ments are found in many Azerbaijani carpets and their tion of the center field is mainly filled by the “buta” ele-
origin dates back to the ancient times. They are woven ments only. These recurrent elements form rows length-
in every third raw, while the main elements are woven wise and crosswise. The border stripe consists of various
in every second raw. The border ornamental patterns are width stripes, including “jag”, “medakhil”, “zenjire”. The
largely composed of 3 stripes, including the center edge ornamental pattern is stylized and stands out due to its
ketebe and smaller edge “chakhmaghy” typical to the high degree of thickness and exquisite decoration. The
Baku carpets and running along the sides of ketebe. This pliability of the design and emotional expressiveness of
smaller edge can be identified in “The Family”, the paint- the form and color are intended to convey the joyous
ing by Lorenzo Loto, an Italian painter of the 16th centu- perception of life. The artistic effect is further intensified
ry (1480-1556). The color of the border stripes varies de- through rhythm, symmetry and a clearly expressed com-
pending on the color of the center field. An artistic analy- position, all of them following a common harmony.
sis of the Yerfi carpet makes it possible to conclude that
the composition of its center field is adopted mainly from Gullu
the flat-weave rugs typical to the nomadic tribes. This carpet belongs to the village of Derechichi. The cen-
ter field is filled by the “gul” elements only. These recur-
Gyryz rent elements form rows lengthwise and crosswise. The
The composition of the center field of the Gyryz carpet border stripe consists of various width stripes, including
consists mainly of several large gels arranged along the “jag”, “medakhil”, “zenjire”.
central vertical axis. The gels in such carpets are of a
“khoncha” or “tabag” shape, with rhomboid elements to
the left and to the right. Craftsmen call these elements
References
“gulli yaylyg”. In the center of the gels there is an ele- • Neff, Ivan C. and Carol V. Maggs. Dictionary of Oriental
ment called “aypara” (“crescent”). It is believed to de- Rugs. London: AD. Donker LTD, 1977. ISBN
pict a wedding khoncha. Typical to the Gyryz carpets are 9780949937353
the images of the pair of ear rings in between the gels, • Gans-Ruedin, E. Caucasian Carpets. New York: Rizzoli,
lined up images of birds and individual elements of vari- 1986. ISBN 0253325552
ous forms and shapes. • Eiland, Murray L. Oriental Rugs. Boston: New York
Graphic Society, 1976. ISBN 9780821206430
Butaly
This carpet of the Kuba group of the Kuba-Shirvan type External links
belongs to the village of Derechichi of the Kuba district.
• Images of Kuba Rugs
Similar carpets are made in the villages of Nabur, She-
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Categories:
• Rugs and carpets
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