Lot 128

ANTIQUE ARMENIAN RUG

A hand-knotted wool rug on a wool warp from the Eastern Caucasus (Armenian community). Although this is one of the region’s classic designs, it features an unconventional and exceptionally optimistic, colorful interpretation, surrounded by a very classic, wide Caucasian border in ochre yellow. This border is filled with motifs known as “wine glasses” and “oak leaves” — while the diagonally arranged “oak leaves” are also considered a stylization of the jagged Caucasian mountains, the so-called “wine cup” is likely a highly geometrized depiction of a tulip, with striped tulips here emerging from rhombus motifs, always in two-color combinations. Four dominant medallions with large rosettes float amidst a vast array of motifs, among which the tricolor hexagons—poetically nicknamed the “wheel of fate” in the terminology of Caucasian carpets—deserve the most attention. In all these elements, we can recognize Armenian crosses in the style of ancient stone khachkars, intrinsically linked to medieval Armenian Christianity. Upon closer inspection, we can also find two larger stylized shepherd dogs with striped bodies and red legs in one section of the carpet. The outer border consists of a band of mountain peaks in red on a blue background. An interesting collection piece.