Lot 134

AN ANTIQUE RUG KARABAGH

It is a hand knotted woolen wedding runner, where the main border and the outer and inner so-called smaller borders are made classic, represented by "oak leaves" and "wine cups" in the main border and surrounded by a zigzag line between the rosettes in the inner and outer border. Most interesting, however, is the narrow central field in midnight blue with seven parallelogram motifs filled with cheerful flowers, one of which is always in the central position in a different colour. In the third rhombus from the top we see a pair of figures depicting a man and a woman, the man wearing a solid blue garment and the woman wearing a white bordered outfit. The stylization of the figures is indicative of Armenian provenance, even when compared to other antique carpets where the Armenian origin is clear due to Christian symbolism or Armenian inscriptions. It is worth mentioning the unusually abundant depiction of the motif of the dog, associated in the symbolism of Caucasian pieces above all with fidelity, with a total of 21 dogs on our carpet. Classical motifs in the field include the so-called magic eye (a protective rhombus, divided into four parts by colour) and a very nicely drawn element called the 'wheel of fate' (a hexagon with four two-coloured quadrants). In overall appearance and iconography, this piece looks like an original wedding carpet, perhaps tied by the bride as part of her dowry and above all as a testament to her skills.