In the carpet-weaving centers of Armenia's plains, carpets featuring floral patterns representing agricultural culture were particularly prevalent. These designs consisted of botanical compositions where tribal or ancestral significance was less pronounced, giving way to more intricate, multi-part, interwoven images. Floral-patterned carpets are characterized by repeating motifs that symmetrically depict field landscapes, symbolizing the Garden of Eden. Among these, carpets adorned with grape leaf motifs are especially notable.
Apparently this carpet’s pattern was a favorite for early Caucasion carpets, for about two dozen can be cited, usually in fragmentary condition. The dark blue field, abrashed dark brown toward the top of the rug, is covered with a densely packed array of motifs, which can be read as the alternation of floral ele- ments, palmettes and leaves, in vertical rows, in an endless drop repeat. On the other hand, it may be seen as the diagonal repeat of a group of four major elements which together form a diamond. Each grouping of this sort includes a pair of large palmettes which lie transversely with their points inward and two smaller palmettes which lie with points out- ward on the vertical axis that rises between the first pair.
The large palmettes alternate in shape and coloring from one group to the next, and there is a color counterchange within the group. Thus one group will include two large and ragged or vine-leaf palmettes: one ivory and the other sand color. Each of these has its small central lotus palmette and a radial dis- play of buds and blossoms. From this large palmette, near its tip, sweep two curving red vines, each ending in a jagged, red and light blue lancet leaf, the two lancets clasping the palmette. The smaller palmettes, which have a very stylized, stiff lotus form, show combinations of red and yellow. In the other grouping these vertically placed palmettes are similar, but the large ones are somewhat diamond- shaped, with finely stepped edges. Alternately light blue or violet, the central lotus lies within an area of ivory. Clasping each of these diamond palmettes is a pair of small palmettes with strongly ribbed petals, again on curving stems.
The floral motifs found in this carpet are also present in classic "vishapagorg" (dragon) carpets, suggesting that this type of floral carpet may have evolved from the traditional vishapagorgs. The traditional centers for the development of floral carpets include the Ararat Plain and its neighboring regions such as Nakhichevan; Ganja; Gugark, known for its ancient horticultural traditions; Artsakh (particularly Shushi); as well as the carpet-weaving centers of Syunik, Shirvan, Vaspurakan, and Taron.
Source:
Charles Grant Ellis “Early Caucasian Rugs”,
Armenian Carpet Art, XVII-XX cc., History Museum of Armenia.