Gendje Prayer rug

Gendje prayer rug

from the southern Caucasus

circa 1880

Size: 210 x 90 cm

Long, narrow prayer rugs are quite unusual but this piece is unusual in several other respects. 

The yellow field colour is a relatively rare thing in any oriental rug. Quite a few plants contain the chemical constituents to produce a yellow dye. However, not many produce a successful, lasting yellow which is stable in light. Weld reseda luteola  was a cultivated plant which produced a good yellow and I suspect it was the source of the yellow in this rug. However, it was quite expensive and therefore used lavishly only on rather precious items. Other sources for a good yellow such as saffron were simply far too expensive.