This 19th century Caucasian Shirvan rug from the southern Azerbaijan region is a rare example of tribal artistry at its most lyrical, woven in an elegant allover paisley — boteh — pattern of great refinement. The field features a distinctive abrash French blue palette with beautifully layered tonal variations in blue and green, the natural result of hand-dyeing wool in small batches with vegetable pigments — each shade slightly different from the last, creating a surface that shimmers and shifts like a mountain lake.
The ivory border is framed with classic Caucasian geometric motifs in red, blue, and yellow, adding a striking contrast to the expressive tribal composition. Worn from generations of history yet remarkably charming, this authentic piece carries the refined 'shabby chic' aesthetic that only genuine antique textiles with a century and a half of history can achieve. Shirvan rugs, woven in the southeastern region of Azerbaijan along the Caspian coast, represent one of the most technically refined and design-sophisticated traditions within the broad Caucasian weaving world. Distinguished by finer knotting than the bold Kazak rugs of the higher mountains, Shirvan weavings offer an intricate geometric vocabulary, a luminous palette of vegetable-dyed wool, and an elegance that has made them prized by collectors of antique Caucasian textiles for generations.
Dimensions: 2' 10" x 4' 1"
Date of Manufacture: 4th Quarter of the 1800s
Place of Origin: Caucasus (Shirvan, Azerbaijan)
Material: Wool pile on a wool foundation with vegetable dyes
