Page 49 - Azərbaycan xalçaları

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Azerbaijani carpets / TABRIZ GROUP
This carpet was woven in Ardabil. Its composition consists of a middle area and a border.
On the middle brick red background field, a large dark blue medallion is located. The upper and lower parts of the medal-
lion are decorated with altar-shaped elements and its right and left sides are trimmed with zigzag-shaped elements. The
altar-shaped and zigzag-shaped strips have a green background. On the green strips there are small red z-shaped elements,
which are not easily noticeable. The edges of the green background strips are colored in black, white, and red “su” (wa-
ter) on the outside and red and yellow “su” on the inside. Around the “su” there are depictions of four-petal flowers with
black, white, and red on the outside and yellow, red, and blue on the inside. Inside the medallion there are depictions of
sixteen-petal flowers in red, brown, green, and blue. In the middle of the medallion, there are three complete and four half-
medallions placed consecutively. The medallions’ edges are enriched with red madakhils and the madakhils are completed
with green “su” from both sides.
In the gaps of the medallion there are green, red, brown, and blue leaves with cogged edges. As these leaves resemble fish,
the weavers call them “baliq” (fish). These kinds of “baliq” motifs are found in “Herat Piradil” carpets belonging to the
Guba group and “baliq” carpets belonging to the Karabakh group. The brick red corners of the carpet are decorated with
rhomboidal and square-shaped elements. The square-shaped elements are designed in blue and the rhomboidal elements
in green, dark blue, blue, and brown. The gaps in between the elements are filled with tiny flowers, rhomboidal elements,
and stylized “baliq” motifs. The dark blue background madakhils decorated with small white-red and white-green flowers
surround the middle field of the carpet. The carpet’s main white background border is decorated with motifs called “chay-
nik nishan” by the weavers. This motif is also interpreted as a stylized “bagha” (tortoise). In the gaps among the “bagha”
motifs, medallions are depicted. The “bagha” motifs and medallions join one another via red branches. The edges of the
branches are decorated in blue. Inside the medallions there are depictions of red, green, and yellow eight-petal roses. The
colors of every other “bagha” motif and the elements on them are changed and it brings out a special appearance in the
carpet and enriches the color arrangement.
The small-sized flowers on the border complete the border’s general vision. The main border is surrounded by red back-
ground minor borders decorated with wavy lines from both sides. The gaps among the wavy lines are filled with tiny
rhomboidal elements. On the top of these elements there are horn-like bulges. The rhomboidal elements are designed in
dark and light green, yellow, brown, black, blue, red, violet, grey, and white. The minor border on the inside is decorated
with red and white z-shaped elements on the outside and it is surrounded by red and blue madakhils on the inside. The
edges of the madakhils are designed with black “su.”
Madakhils with the same shape and color surround the outer minor border. The madakhils on the edges of the carpet with
four-petal flowers are the same as the madakhils surrounding the middle field.
The carpet has an artistic, historic, and scientific importance. Some parts were repaired. The carpet’s pile is woolen and its
wrap and weft are made of cotton.