southern Caucasus
circa 1880
Size: 309 x 104 cm
Caucasian rugs generally are characterised by contrasting primary colour and boldly geometric design.
This is particularly true of rugs of the southern Caucasus which are long piled and relatively coarse in the knotting although, in this case, the knotting is quite fine with lustrous wool.
This splendid old runner dates from the third quarter of the 19th century and exemplifies the lightness and breadth of palette typical of early examples.
The type, known by design as Surahani, features large rectangular medallions.
An almost identical example is featured in Ulrich Schurman’s book.
cf. Schurmann, Ulrich. Caucasian Rugs, plate 89
