The dealer has a difficult task nowadays in buying Caucasian rugs from Russia. In order to obtain a few good old pieces, he has to take a substantial quantity of modern rugs. He can easily sell the old ones, but he cannot increase his prices on these sufficiently to be able to cover the cost of the whole parcel, because by and large the new goods cannot be considered attractive when seen with the old. No amount of treatment will give the new product anything like the beauty of the old one. This of course is true of many things, but it appears more noticeable in the rugs of the Caucasus. This is probably because the name of the Caucasus to the western mind conjures up visions of a hard-living, semi-nomadic people, making rugs as tough as can be, and the modern product bears no resemblance to this ideal.
The weaving area is in the south, and what is now the Soviet Republic of Armenia has contributed much to the craft, wherever it is practised, but particularly in Asia Minor.
Historically speaking, it cannot be doubted that some of the early rugs and carpets which found their way into Europe labelled ‘Turkish’ were made either in Armenia or by Armenian weavers in Turkey. In spite of the centuries of turmoil experienced by their ill-fated country, for some reason the Armenians never appear to have debased their culture, and even today the Republic gives much to the cultural life of the Soviet Union, particularly in the fields of music and handcrafts.
When, in the nineteenth century, the western world started to study the subject of Oriental rugs, and endeavoured to identify them by town, district or tribe, the divisions which we use today were applied.
By far the most important group of historic carpets is the type known as the Armenian Dragon rug, of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. These rugs are invariably long and narrow, with narrow borders; it is often difficult to see dragons in the field design, but it is true to say that in some examples, with a little bit of artistic licence, forms can be seen that could conceivably be stylized dragons and other animals in combat, or at least face to face. Most of the good examples are to be seen in museums, particularly on the continent of Europe and in the United States of America. As for where they were made, nobody knows, but the popular attribution is the Kuba district, which sounds feasible enough. Kuba remained an important centre for the manufacture of rugs and carpets, but in later pieces some confusion is found in the correct names to be used for pieces from this area.
Shirvan rugs also come from this part of the Caucasus, which is, in fact, in the province of Shirvan, but by and large Shirvan is the name given to scatter rug sizes, and Kuba to the larger carpet sizes.
In between there is the rug about 10′ X 5′ which is usually known as a Cabistan. Here more confusion arises the word Kiaba refers in the Caucasus to this size, therefore the term ‘Kiaba-Shirvan’ may be used for it. However, the word Cabistan could be a corruption of Kubistan, which denotes carpets from Kuba. Whatever the explanation, the name Cabistan is often used in the trade to describe a Shirvan of about 10′ X 5′. Chichi rugs also come from the Shirvan area; they are easily identified by their main border treatment.
To the north of Kuba lies the area of Daghestan. From here come the Daghestans, the Derbends from the capital of the province, and the Seichurs from the village of that name. South of Kuba is the main Shirvan area, and the city of Baku, one of the main oil-producing cities in Russia. The rugs of Baku are not made in the city but in the small village of Hile just outside, and they are usually classified as Baku (Hile) rugs. Soumac is also near here, the home of the flat woven Kelim type pieces, but with a peculiar weave all of its own.
Almost in the centre of the Caucasus, nearly half way between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, is the Carabagh area. For some obscure reason, in the nineteenth century this part of the world turned out rugs and runners completely out of context for Caucasian pieces. These depicted European designs but with the feeling of the East in them, some with dogs as designs, but all showing that peculiar colour combination associated with Carabaghs, black and a shade which could be described as deep rose tending towards wine. Also from this part of the country are to be found Genje rugs, colourful, cheerful, and completely Caucasian.
Farther west towards the Black Sea is the country of the Kazaks, well-known to European and American markets. There are three types of flat woven (pileless) rugs or Kelims, made in the Caucasus, the best known being the Soumac, which was mentioned previously. These are unlike flat woven fabrics from other parts of the world in that the woollen threads forming the pattern on the face of the rug are left hanging loose on the back, in the same manner as in a European tapestry. This gives a more luxurious tread of course, but the rugs are not reversible. The other types are known as the Sile and the Verne, but in most instances the name Soumac serves for all.
There are, however, distinguishing features; the Sile is woven on rather narrow looms, necessitating the sewing together of two widths to make a normal sized rug, and their designs consist of large’S'-shaped figures. The Verne is made in designs of squares alone, each containing lozenge-shaped figures, something akin to a Persian Bakhtiari garden design. As with all Caucasian weaving there is a complete absence of rounded forms.