EAST CAUCASUS, EARLY 19TH CENTURY

The present lot forms part of a group of east Caucasian flat-weaves that take their design stimulus from the so-called 'dragon' carpets woven in Armenia from the 16th to the 18th century. In his research on the subject of soumacs, Alberto Boralevi concludes that there is such uniformity between the various types produced in the Caucasus, that he is lead to believe that they were likely woven in the same area, if not the same village of Kusary, located in the foothills of the Greater Caucasus, (A. Boralevi, Sumakh: Flat-woven carpets of the Caucasus, Firenze, 1986, p.27). This theory is reinforced by the limited number of border variants that can be found which amount to just six. The heavily corroded dark brown zig-zag border seen on the present carpet is found on a soumac carpet of ascending 'Blossom and Palmette' design, dated AH 1260 / 1844-5 AD which sold in these Rooms, 27 October 2022, lot 178.