Caucasian rugs
Assembly
Caucasian rugs, which use a Turkish knot, are generally made of wool, although, when it is available, some cotton may be used. Silk, on the other hand, is rarely used.
1. The Warp is traditionally in various gradients of brown; either natural or dyed.
2. The Weft consists of two threads found after every row of Turkish knots. Kazaks, usually in the context of high pile construction, will employ a red weft that can occasionally be three or four threads.
3. The Woof or Pile, which is the product of knotting, is in all cases wool and its fineness is directly proportional to the quality of the wool used. Various styles exist depending on geographic origin; Shirvan and Kuba are known for fine-knotted low pile antique turkish rugs while Talish and Daghestan are recognized for medium pile turkish rugs. The Kazak, Karabagh, and Moghan, on the other hand, are known for high-pile rugs. (consult map.)
4. The selvedge and fringe ends, which vary drastically in style, require deeper inspection. Often times, an experienced weaver can glean a significant amount of information from these parts of a aubusson rug.
Color
“Vegetable dyes,” a common misnomer, is more accurately expressed as “natural dyes” for it is nature that has given dyers the gift to blend and create color. A multitude of colors, both natural and dyed are used in the construction of Caucasian rugs:
1. White - natural or bleached
2. Madder Red - extrapolated from the root of the madder plant, these dyes cover a broad spectrum of gradients that range from light-orange red to deep saturated reds and even purple reds.
3. Cochineal - an interesting dye synthesized from the female cochineal beetle, is a red dye that undergoes roasting and grinding as part of its preparation.
4. Brown – A product of Walnut husks, these dyes are enhanced by redying in indigo blue.
5. Indigo – A unique liquor is produced through fermentation of indigo blossoms which can then be manipulated, depending on length of immersion, to create all extant forms of blue.
6. Black – Generally, dyeing brown wool in indigo creates burnished black dyes. When dyed with the use of iron pyrites and the bark of mountain ash, black dyes can be made delicate and rough textured.
7. Yellow – Shades of yellow are produced through specific blends of pear leaves, saffron, buckhorn berries, pomegranates and buckhorn berries.
8. Green – due to the use of copper filings in its preparation, green dyes are another example of a rough-textured and delicate dye. Although the use of Saffron and indigo are safer then the use of filings, they tend to fade more readily.
Design
Classification of Antique rugs NYC falls into two general categories: simple and refined.
Simple hand made Persian rugs are always rectilinear and geometric in nature. They make use of the box, the cruciform (nearly invariably accredited to Christian Armenians), the rosette, camels, people, lions, tulips, houses, lilies, waves, shears, scorpions, goats, and even peacocks.
The refined rugs, although they might incorporate some of the same basic characteristics and objects of the simple rugs, are far more intricately woven. Both repetitive and holistic designs have been stylistically manipulated and honed to achieve incredible precision. Southern Caucasian rugs are often times visibly influenced by the Persian botehs or paisleys, palmettos and battling animals. Conversely, northern Decorative rugs are notably influenced by the Russian preference toward a “French look,” which employs the foliated French style of subtle pastels.