Village and Commercial Rugs from the Caucasus

East Caucasian Rug,
Caucasus, 19th Century
102.2 x 155.6 cm (40 1/4 x 61 1/4 in.)
Wool pile
William Fern Collection

This rug has certain technical and design features that link it to the group of carpets produced in the Eastern Caucasus (Kuba or Shirvan), however it is by no means typical. It is distinguished for the playfulness of its design: the weaver has decided to make every element in the field unique, with no two motifs having the same color combinations. This differs markedly from rugs produced under the Russian state-sponsored kustar system, which, by regulating and dispersing traditional designs, gave rise to a kind of faux-folk- art. It is thus likely that this carpet dates to the period before the inception of the kustar program of the 1880s.