Page 61 - Azərbaycan xalçaları

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Azerbaijani carpets / TABRIZ GROUP
The artistic composition of the carpet consists of a middle field and a border. In the mid-
dle field of this complex carpet, there are 33 large and four small quadrangle medallions.
There are five-petal half-medallions. Inside the dark blue medallions, which are placed in
the left and right corners of the middle field. These half-medallions form quarter sections of
the twenty-petal medallions. Inside the medallions there are pink, yellow, blue, dark blue,
orange, light brown, turquoise, dark red, and light green flowers and leaves. On the inside,
the edges of the medallions are designedwith ivory and on the outside with orange “su”. In
the gaps of themedallion flowers, leaves and branches are depicted. An element resembling
a cypress tree can be clearly seen in the yellow medallions on the lower and upper parts
of the medallion. One of the most widespread decorative elements described in Azerbai-
jani decorative applied-art, including carpets, is the cypress. These adornments, which are
found very often in works of art, were usually executed by the artisans with great mastery,
ability, and taste.
There was a strong belief in the tree among Turk-
ish people. This was related to their mythical
views. Turkish people believed trees to be helping
powers. As a sign of vitality, the tree was idolized
and depicted repeatedly in works of art for centu-
ries.
The description of a cypress tree is commonly
found in classical literature. The great poet of the
seventh century, Nizami Ganjavi, noted in his
“Khosrow and Shirin” the names of the songs
“Sarvi shah” and “Sarvistan,” which were com-
posed by the fire-worshippers to celebrate a cy-
press tree. One of the most famous poets of the fif-
teenth centuryNasimi, a great poet of the sixteenth
century Fuzuli, and others mentioned song names
related to cypress trees like “Servi-sitah,” “Servi-
siyah,” and “ Servi-naz.”
One can also find depictions of a cypress tree in
various fields of Azerbaijani decorative applied-
art, including miniatures. For centuries, in the
Near East and also in Azerbaijan, the cypress tree
was thought to be sacred andwas worshipped. It is
said that the first branches of the cypress tree were
brought from paradise. Later Zardusht spread the
cypress by planting one of the branches in Kashgar
(Turkmenistan) and the other in Khorasan (Iran).
The gaps of the medallion on the right and left
sides of the cypress tree have depictions of flow-
ery and leafy trees. The trunks and branches of
the trees are dark blue and dark red, the flowers
are red, blue, brown, and yellow, and the leaves
are dark green and red. Inside the dark blue back-
ground medallions, located below the yellow me-