Saturday, November 05, 2005
First Step: Admitting You Have a Problem
And the first step is always the hardest. The only problem I have is deciding which one of my latest purchases I like best.
This one is a 1946 Karabagh, with so many words woven into it that its weaver must have had a lot to say. Unfortunately, since they are all backwards, she must have been awfully distracted as well.
With five or six different kinds of animals represented it, it also tells a great story. The challenge will be trying to interpret it!
1946 is woven into the carpet
I bought this one at the same time. It, too, is Talish/Karabagh. It looks like a woman named Mina made it in 1950.
The cool thing about this one, besides its pattern, is that it's about 15 feet long!
Today, I had no intention of buying a carpet -- I only went into Ruslan's shop to pick one up I bought last week. The Producer and I were shooting the shit with Ruslan and his partner Ramiz. "Wait, Christina! My friend, he has antique in his car. I have never seen it. Do you want to look?"
That may have been a dumb question, but Ruslan is a very clever carpet dealer.
I have never seen a pattern nor color like this. It is an Avar carpet, made in the far northwest of the country, near the border with Georgian and Dagestan. It has a wonderful abrash (different shades of the same color that mark a different batch of colored wool.). It also has some knots in it that I have never seen before as well. I am going to have to do some research. It's not clear how old it is -- maybe 50 -75 years old.
This one is a 1946 Karabagh, with so many words woven into it that its weaver must have had a lot to say. Unfortunately, since they are all backwards, she must have been awfully distracted as well.
With five or six different kinds of animals represented it, it also tells a great story. The challenge will be trying to interpret it!
1946 is woven into the carpet
I bought this one at the same time. It, too, is Talish/Karabagh. It looks like a woman named Mina made it in 1950.
The cool thing about this one, besides its pattern, is that it's about 15 feet long!
Today, I had no intention of buying a carpet -- I only went into Ruslan's shop to pick one up I bought last week. The Producer and I were shooting the shit with Ruslan and his partner Ramiz. "Wait, Christina! My friend, he has antique in his car. I have never seen it. Do you want to look?"
That may have been a dumb question, but Ruslan is a very clever carpet dealer.
I have never seen a pattern nor color like this. It is an Avar carpet, made in the far northwest of the country, near the border with Georgian and Dagestan. It has a wonderful abrash (different shades of the same color that mark a different batch of colored wool.). It also has some knots in it that I have never seen before as well. I am going to have to do some research. It's not clear how old it is -- maybe 50 -75 years old.
