Page 21 - Azərbaycan xalçaları

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Karabakh Carpets.
Guzanly village. Aghdam.
When Shusha was the capital of the
Khanate of Karabakh, carpets with
classical patterns were woven in
the city and its villages. In the 19th
century, in addition to traditional
ornaments, decorative elements
borrowed from trays, flavored
soaps, fabrics, and other home
goods brought from Russia and
Europe were used in new carpet
compositions such as «Bakhchada
guller» (Flowers in a Garden),
«Sakhsyda Guller» (Flowers in a
Vase), «Bulud» (Cloud), and others.
According to the statistical data of the years of 1840-1850,
the number of craftsmen doubled in the city of Shusha and the
majority of them were engaged in carpet making.
Carpet weaving was one of the main professions in Shusha
due to the favorable geographical location, the abundance
of suitable raw materials for textiles, and the wide use of this
material in everyday life. The demand for Karabakh carpets
both in domestic and foreign markets impacted its development
comprehensively.
In that period, carpet making in Shusha reached the highest
level artistically and technologically and was improved further
due to its location at the crossroads of caravan trading routes
with Iran, Turkey, Arabia, India, and Russia. It also played a
special role in the social and economic life of Karabakh and the
South Caucasus as a whole.
In the 19th century, carpet-making specialists of various
professional weaving skills worked in Shusha. The quality of
carpets made here was higher than those of Khorasan.
Shusha carpets became very popular at the end of the 19th
century due to their specific artistic and technological features;
even among carpets of the Karabakh Group of Azerbaijani
carpets.
Similar to other regions of Azerbaijan, the carpets of
Karabakh are divided into two groups: flat-weaves and pile-
weaves. The first group represents carpets called hasir, chatan,
buria, palas, jejim, kilim, verni, shedde, zili, sumakh, and ladi
that are made using flat-weave techniques. Carpets and carpet-
like products related to the group of flat-weaves are made on
the basis of simple threading, complex threading, and simple
wrapping methods to link weft with warp.
The second group includes pile-weaves. Carpets and khalys
form part of this group. Weaving of pile carpets is done using a
knotting method that entails using a wrapping knot or a gullaby
knot.
Art specialists claim that the development path of pile-
weaves and flat-weaves consists of four main and consistent
stages.
The first stage is considered as the primitive period in the
art of carpet weaving. Palas and jejims made in Karabakh are
related to this preliminary stage. Carpet products made in that
period do not contain any ornament. They are simple and single
colored. Afterwards, carpet makers started to weave palases
with stripes using natural dyes of animal wool.
Washing of palas in the river.
Sahlab village. Tartar district.
Achma-Yumma carpet of Karabakh Group in villager’s yard.
Sahlab village. Tartar district.
Azerbaijani carpets / KARABAKH GROUP