To have a correct approach to the carpets coming from Caucasian regions, it is best to clarify if we are talking about new or old carpet or, instead, about ancient collection carpets.
The Caucasian carpets took their name from the region where they are realized. Caucasus is located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. It includes the areas of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Chechnya e Ingushetia. These regions are still an unstable place of conflicts but despite this fact there is a rich carpets production. Beautiful and bright colours but also rational geometries characterize the ancient artworks knotted by local nomadic population in these areas, who put into their carpets the proud for their traditions and culture.
The ancient Caucasian carpets, a real passion for expert collectors and scholars of the Caucasian people’s traditions, are recognized by the beauty, expressive power, and decorative elegance of the rigorous geometric design; They are knotted on a horizontal frame by nomadic, semi-nomadic, or transuman populations; They are recognized by a symmetrical Ghiordes knot, also known as Turkibaf (turkish knot), in addition to the fleece, warp and warp are made of wool.
The strong point of the ancient Caucasian manufactures is the simplicity of designs and motifs: the design is wider in carpets from the Western Caucasus, narrower in carpets from Eastern Caucasus. The geometric rigor of the decorations is unique, often there are stylized animals, scheming symbols and various small decorations. The most common geometric shapes are medallions, stars, squares and octagons. The ancient Caucasian carpets (manufactured before 1918) were knotted completely by hand. The natural colors, from vegetable or animal origin are bright and lively. Thanks to the good quality of the wool, fine, tight and compact knots are bright and durable.
Morandi divided the the Caucasian carpets into three different collections after their lands of origin:
Carpets from Western Caucasus – that we call Kazak even though in Morandi store you could find the exact village of origin of every carpet.
Carpets from Southern Caucasus (the most known are Karabagh).
Carpets from Eastern Caucasus, also if the most famous ones are Shirvan Carpets, every carpet is quoted with the name of the village or with the knotting area name (ex. Kuba area) or after the ethnic group who knotted it.
The Kazak are from the occidental Caucasus regions, and not from Kazakhstan. In fact their name isn’t related to this state but to the Cossack population. These manufactures generally have high and bright fleece and essential geometries. They can be distinguished by the drawing (stars, swastikas, prayer themes, polygons, trees, boxes) or by the village where they were knotted (the most beautiful come from Lori-Pampak, Sewan, Fachralo, Karaciof, Bordjalou, Shulaver, Lamalo e Shikli).
Southern Caucasus.
The Karabagh carpets in the Morandi’s Collection were knotted from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th. Among the Caucasian carpets, the Karabagh are the one that were most influenced by the western culture. The most appreciated are the Karabagh Ciondoresk, Celaberd, Kasim Ushag, Goradis. The most used drawings and themes are the “gol” decorations, animals, boteh, herati, modular drawings, birds or occidental issues.
Central-Eastern Caucasus
The ancient Caucasian Shirvan carpets comes from the central-east Caucasus and they are extremely famous and appreciated for the brilliant Ghiordes knotting and the fleece incredibly low and elegant. The iconographies, unlinke Kazak and Karabagh, are typical and different in every village.
Among the most appreciated manufactures there are: Ghendjeh, Talish, Lenkoran, Mogan, Ciajli, Akstafa, Marasali, Bidjof, Surahani, Tachte, Kila, Baku, Kuba, Karagashli, Konakhend, Ci Ci, Prepedil, Seikhur, Zejwa, Daghestan, Derbend e Lesghi.
