Chirvan Hilla carpet (warp, weft and wool pile), East Caucas - Lot 270

Chirvan Hilla carpet (warp, weft and wool pile), East Caucasus, circa 1880-1900 300 x 150 The carpet is decorated with a suite of three large blue octagons with geometric floral motifs on a blue background enhanced with geometric motifs. A wide red border with polychrome lace flower garlands surrounds the composition. "Despite the diversity of its population, the Caucasus has always shown an astonishing unity of style in its carpets. The colors are clear and bold, the designs assertive, inclined to the pure geometries. Behind this unity lie two influences that were not merely cultural: that of Ottoman Turkey, which controlled the western and central parts of the region, and that of Sefevid Persia. (1501-1722), which once owned the whole of Azerbaijan. Carpets from the Kazak region in the central Caucasus, for example, often reproduce designs from ancient Turkish carpets, preserving the in much the same way as a language preserves certain stages of its history in remote regions". Bibliographical reference: Gilles, R., exhibition catalog "Le Tapis dans tous ses états", Galerie Chevalier, Paris, 1995, p.2. Slight wear and scratches