Стр. 20 - Azərbaycan xalçaları

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have been gathering different plants, roots,
rootstock, trunks, branches, leaves, flow-
ers, seeds, fruits, and berries to prepare dye
solutions of beautiful, bright and unfading
color shades to dye silk and cotton fabrics
as well as the wool and silk threads used in
carpet weaving. One of the major character-
istics of carpets and carpet products woven
in Shirvan is that they are colorful with dyes
that are unfading and bright.
Azerbaijani flora has more than 1500 plants used for dye-
ing solutions, from which more than a hundred are used in
weaving (“boyagotu,” “saraga,” sumac, “narinj” (wild or-
ange), maclura (mulberry), yellow rezedan, delichetene, Japa-
nese sophora (Pagoda tree), walnut, pomegranate, zirinj, oak,
chestnut, and others). Delichetene was used to obtain lemon
yellow, golden-yellow, yellow-orange, green, tobacco shades,
“mikhayi” (brown), light brown, brown, and other color
shades. The Shirvan masters obtained these dyeing substances
from Lankaran, Astara, and Zagatala. Years ago people plant-
ed hectares of delichetene to use as a natural raw material in
dyeing wool. Delichetene is one of the most valuable raw ma-
terials that are used in the carpet weaving industry.
There are up to 150 kinds of avalik found in the flora of the
world. Of these, seventeen grow in Azerbaijan. It is possible
to produce pea green, light yellow, orange, light-brown and
other colors out of yumrukok (round rooted) avalik, galkhan-
vari avalik, gumral avalik, at (horse) avalik, and other types
that are used in weaving.
One of the plants used in dyeing is “murdarcha” (buck-
thorn). In the Shirvan district, murdarcha grows in dry plac-
es, such as the rocky terraces of riverbanks, bushes, thinned
forests, and mixed with other trees and bushes. The ripened
fruit of murdarcha yields a “plant” green, over-ripened fruit
gives dark green, and the unripe fruit is used to produce yel-
low. The fresh skin of the murdarcha is used for bright yellow
while the dried skin is used for brown dyes. The dyeing dust
obtained from one kilogram of murdarcha dust is enough to
dye 15-20 kilograms of thread.
Carpet trade.
Shamakhi.
Mafrash (Catchall) cover. Wool. Flat-weave.
19th century. Shirvan group. Azerbaijan.
Sheep shearing.
Carpet fragment. Wool. Pile-weave. 19th
century. Shirvan group. Azerbaijan.