This famous rug, familiarly called the "Guhar carpet" after the name of the weaver, is an extremely important historical document with a colorful history. Guhar (Gohar) is an Armenian female name, meaning gem or jewel. The rug was noticed first when it appeared in 1899 in London where it was photographed at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and it was subsequently published by F.R. Martin in 1908. Afterwards, however, it dropped from sight and did not resurface until 1977, when it was sold at auction in London by LeFevre and Partners. The Kohar rug is not in the British Museum, as stated by some rug authorities.

The rug is in the Karabagh style and related to the dragon rug designs of Kuba. The inscription at the top of the rug is an earnest request and expresses the religious personality of its weaver: "I, Gohar, full of sin and weak of soul, with my newly learned hands wove this rug. Whoever reads this, may say a word of mercy to God for me, dating 1149"

During the time when the carpet's whereabouts were unknown, it continued to elicit comment from historians of the art, particularly since the inscription seemed to provide an early date. The date is not so straightforward as one would hope, however, as it comes in the form of a chronogram, in which four letters-representing successively millennium, century, decade, and year-are separated by dots. The translation suggested a date of 1129 according to the Armenian calendar which began in 551; this is 1679-80 A.D. by the modern Christian calendar. The date has also been read as 1149, or 1699-1700 A.D., while others have suggested that the date refers to the Islamic calendar, which began in 621 A.D. and thus should be 1732. Although there have been suggestions that the date was altered, the rug shows no evidence of tampering. Others have suggested that the inscription was copied from an earlier rug. As with many carpets of disputed date, one must look to the carpet itself for clues.

The design of the Gohar Carpet with large elaborate palmettes and medallions relates it to the Kasim Ushag tradition, which, in turn, places it in the context of an extensive series of Caucasian rugs with similar designs that probably began to be made in the seventeenth century and extended into the early nineteenth century. The large palmette designs at each end of the vertical axis are characteristic of these rugs, as are the yellow-field bands at their sides. The central medallion, the four smaller palmettes in the field at the sides, and the border on the Gohar are all consistent with design elements found in rugs of the seventeenth or eighteenth century. The same border appears on a Dragon rug in the collection of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. The colors, however, are not typical of the earlier rugs. There is here a surprisingly small amount of strong dark blue and an unexpectedly heavy use of green and yellow. The colors, moreover, do not resemble the palette of the nineteenth-century descendants of the earlier rugs.

Thus, although the rug does not seem to be a mainstream type, there is no convincing evidence that it is not as old as the date suggests. Certainly there is no question of its success as a work of art. In balance of design, color, texture and composition, the Gohar must be ranked as an extremely successful and appealing carpet. The Armenian provenance-which can hardly be questioned given the inscription -would seem to help relate a much larger group of rugs to the Armenian weaving tradition.

Source:

Lucy Der Maneulyan, Murray L.Eiland, Weavers, Merchants and Kings, The Inscribed Armenian Rugs, Kimbell Art Museum. 

H.M.Raphaelian, Rugs of Armenia, Their History and Art

F.R. Martin. HistoryofOriental Carpets before 1800. Vienna, 1908.

“Jraberd” type of rugs are classified as “Dragon” rugs. In various sources, rugs of this group are also called by experts “Charaberd”, “Chalaberd”, “Artsvagorg”/Eagle rug/, “Adler-Kazak”, etc. The earliest examples of the rug date back to the 17th-18th centuries. “Jraberd” type rugs were mostly found in the carpet weaving centers of Artsakh and Syunik.

The main characteristic of  “Jraberd” rugs is the large and complex composition with a cross-shaped axis, on each vertex of which are depicted stylized pairs of bird heads. All of this is complemented by ray-like appendages, which Ashkhunj Poghosyan calls “radiant composition.” In the center, in a diagonal ornamental frame, there is a four-leaf rosette, which in Armenian ornamental art is also known as “ornament of the world”. 

According to Ashkhunj Poghosyan’s classification, two subgroups of the “Jraberd” group of rugs are distinguished: “Classical Jraberd” and “Late Jraberd”.

Rugs belonging to the “Classical Jraberd” group date back to the 17th-18th centuries and are mainly characterized by a “radiant composition” and stylized dragon images. This subgroup, in turn, has several types of rugs:

-“Guhar-Jraberd”. The decorative system of rugs belonging to this type,is characterized by one or more radiate patterns and Guhar pattern flanking the latter on both sides, the pattern of the famous “Guhar” rug woven in 1700. The main regions of origin of these rugs are Artsakh and Syunik.

 -“Fish Jraberd”. The “Jraberd” motif, various multi-leaf rosettes and large fish-shaped stylizations are equally important in the decorative system of these rugs. A remarkable example belonging to this type and dating back to the 18th century is kept in the National Gallery of Armenia. Another peculiarity of the decorative system of this rug is that on the opposite peaks of the main motif there are complex arc-shaped patterns that resemble fish images. The regions of origin are considered to be the carpet weaving centers of northwestern Persia and eastern Vaspurakan.

“Late Jraberd” - dates back to the 19th-20th centuries. The rugs of this subgroup were created based on further developments of the classical rug decoration systems, but there are no dragon lyre-shaped stylizations here. The types of rugs of this subgroup are:

-"Jraberd", which is characterized by one or more classical "radiant compositions”. The main regions of their production are considered to be Artsakh and Syunik. This type can be attributed to the runners called “Yan” by V. Tatikyan, the composition of which is formed by the repetition of the main shield. They were most widespread in the Khachen and Varanda provinces of Artsakh. In some rugs, the shield has been compressed, eight of its twelve rays have remained, the central cross and the hooked eagles on its wings have disappeared, but the charm of the rug has nevertheless been preserved. “Yan” type of runners were spread out during ceremonies, and the elders of the family would all sit each on one shield, thus giving the shield the meaning of a protective sign. Different types of shields symbolized the “coat of arms” of individual clans.

-The “Jraberd-Varanda” type has a composition in the form of a butterfly with spread wings, and we can find in the center the four-leaf rosette, the so-called “ornament of the world”. In addition to the main composition, the decorative system of the carpet field is supplemented with small floral patterns and animalistic stylizations. Dozens of perfect samples of this type are found in the carpet weaving centers of the Varanda province of Artsakh and especially in the village of Berdashen. It is not excluded that the sketch of this type of rugs were made at the end of the 19th century by professional painters and provided to the artels of the Caucasian Handicraft Union and individual craftsmen.

-”Jraberd-Dizak” - this type is characterized by an intricate multi-element and linear version of the motif of the group. Still, in both cases the number of rays remains the same: 12. In the center of this composition there is an elongated octagonal geometrical figure. Its vertical tops end with a ram horn image with a bird-shaped stylization on both sides. The geometrical form is bordered with similar horizontal images. “Tree of life” pattern is part of the design, which is usually depicted on the edges of the motif. Tradition of weaving this type of rugs was especially characteristic to rug weaving centers of Xachen and Dizak. It was also widespread in the carpet weaving centers of Zangezur, especially in the villages of Tegh, Kornidzor, Khndzoresk, in the Goghtan province, Yernjak, and Sharur.

We would also like to add that although “Jraberd” type rugs are characteristic especially of the carpet weaving centers of Syunik and Artsakh and it is an accepted view that they originated there, it is also known that their individual types and variants are widespread in other carpet weaving centers as well, particularly in the carpet weaving centers of the northeastern Transcaucasia, northwestern Iran, and western regions of Asia Minor.

Literature

-Ashkhunj Poghosyan, On the Genealogical Issues of the Jraberd Group Carpets. (in Armenian)

-Vahram Tatikyan, The Tribal Carpets of Artsakh (In Armenian)

-Ashkhunj Poghosyan, "The Carpet Weaving Culture of Artsakh"

"Khndzoresk" type rugs are characterized by a design consisting of a square ornament enclosing a symbol of the sun and eternity, along with eight variations of a dragon that surrounds it. The design also includes motifs originating from the corners of the ornament. Along the vertical axis of the ornament, there is a "Tree of Life" depicted, either in a multi-sided frame or without one, shown in one or two rows. There are also ornamental pieces with a single design. The term "Khndzoresk" has been internationalized and is widely accepted by the majority of researchers. This is due to the fact that the village of Khndzoresk is a traditional center of carpet weaving, especially for this type of carpet. It is mainly characteristic of the carpet weaving centers in Artsakh, Syunik, and Gugark.

In the variations from Syunik, the central motif, the swastika, is formed by the intersection of a snake and birds, with the surrounding dragons being multicolored, each color symbolizing the nature of the respective dragon. In the center of Khndzoresk shields, there are decorative patterns symbolizing a turtle, on which swastikas are depicted. In Artsakh, it is said that these carpets depict a scene in which "...the dragon has abducted the girl, and the boy is looking for her." The word "looking for" indicates that the girl is concealed within a certain ornament, which could be the turtle, a symbol of the goddess Astghik during the pagan period. As for the "boy," he is either represented by the Sun god Mihr, symbolized by the swastika, or by the central figure of the ornament, the dragon-slayer Vahagn.

In the more isolated settlements of Syunik, a very ancient version of the Khndzoresk type was created, where the central dragon motifs end with an element resembling the posture of mountain goats. Just like the swastika formed by the intersection of a bird and a snake, this ornament is also composed of two different animal motifs — a dragon and a goat.

"Khndzoresk" carpets were woven in all the settlements of Syunik, Artsakh, and Gugark. There are also isolated workshops in Tavush (Choratan, Navur, Pravakar, Sevkar, Khastarak, Gandzakar), Lori (Dovegh, Jujivan, Jojkan, Vardablur), and even in Ayrarat (Kanakerr, Old Kond, Garni, Oshakan). In these separate centers, one can find specimens that are quite distinct from the typical Khndzoresk designs found in Syunik and Artsakh. This shows that the spread of this type began a long time ago, during the period when carpet weaving was being mastered and becoming widely popular. The "Khndzoresk" carpets should rightfully be considered one of the earliest shield-like designs with vivid totemic and cosmogonic motifs connected to tribal origins.

Source: 

• Avanesian L., The Symbolic Meaning of Armenian Carpet Designs (Dissertation), Yerevan, 2014
• Tatikian V., The Clan Carpets of Artsakh, Yerevan, Lusabats, 2004
• Kyurtyan H., The Dragon in Armenian Carpets, Bazzmavep, 1931

Pambak is a village located on the left bank of Pambak river, in Lori region of Armenia. The rug got its name from the village where the rugs with this design are most commonly found.  In the antique trade, Lori Pambak rugs are known from the early nineteenth century. Wool or occasionally a mixture of goat hair and wool is used for the warp. Dyed-red wool is used for the weft, but at times cotton, or a mixture of goat hair and wool, is used. The sheep wool pile is cut high․

These carpets are characterized by a cross-shaped composition. Its horizontal wings end in a cocoon-shaped pattern. The vertical ones are stylized as two animals depicted in a frontal position and have a triangular protrusion in their middle. In the center of the composition there is usually an ornament, which is also repeated in the center of the vertical wings. This whole has the same basic color, is in a polygonal frame, or without it.

The principal background colors in Lori Pambaks are deep reds and blues. A unique characteristic of Lori Pambak rugs is the greenish yellow coloration used for the medallion, borders, and design elements throughout. In addition to these hues, ivory and shades of brown are included for design motifs and borders.

Lori Pambak rugs have rich, strong colors. In the antique market they are popular because of the open-field style and simplicity of their design. The sizes vary from small rugs to approximately ten feet by six feet. 

This type of rug is typical of the carpet weaving centers of Gugark, Artsakh, Syunik, as well as Vanand and Javakhk. But it is most typical of Lori and especially Pambak.

Source:

Abraham Levi Moheban;The Encyclopedia of Antique Carpets, Twenty Five Centuries of Weaving.

The “Memling” gul is one of the most familiar motifs encountered in rugs and textiles. Walter Denny describes it as “…perhaps the most popular of all of the classical Anatolian rug motifs to have survived in Anatolian weaving…”

It is commonly believed that the main ornament of Memling's design carries the symbol of the sun. The multiple repetition of the sun motif in the rug's composition, as well as the stylized floral patterns of the borders, carry the meaning of the perpetuity of life.

The adjective “Memling,” refers to Hans Memling(1430 -1494), a 15th century, German-born, Netherlandish painter who sometimes used rugs in his paintings with this motif in their fields. This kind of gul can be found in Anatolian, Caucasian, Shasavan and Central Asian rugs. In Central Asian carpets, it has local names, while in Caucasian carpets, it is called Moghan, which derives from the name of the historical Mogah region of Artsakh, an area that was under the rule of the Moghants, an Armenian noble family.

Perhaps the oldest rendition of the Memling gul in an existing carpet is estimated to have been woven in the 15th century, the same one in which Memling placed rugs with this design in his paintings.

The wonderful fragment of another Memling rug can be seen at the Konya rug museum. This piece is another of the oldest examples of a Memling gul “in the wool” that we currently have.  It is estimated to have been woven in the 16th century in the  Canakkale area.

If we include the possible gul created by the negative space usages in the Konya rug museum fragment, there are six different oldest guls to be compared.

The internal instrumentation of the center one of the gul’s is one of the most frequently seen. Inside the red-ground stepped medallion is a multi-color, eight-pointed star form with a white diamond form at its center.  This diamond is decorated with a red “dot.”  Notice that while the colors of the triangles that make up the star vary, they do not do so in a way that obscures our ability to see the “star” of which they are a part.  The look of this center instrumentation is simple and spacious.

The center instrumentation of another, major Memling gul, has four white-ground double ram’s horn devices joined at their base to form a cruciform motif.  This motif is embossed with a dark line that is punctuated at its top, bottom, both sides and center by small diamond forms,  each with a dot of different color at its center.

It is important to note that for the Memling carpet types woven in Konya, yellow was primarily used as the background color, in contrast to Armenian Memlings, where red and blue dominate the background.

Overall, the Memling style had a pan-Armenian spread, but the majority of the samples were woven in Western Armenia.

Source: Armenian Carpet Art, XVII-XX cc., History Museum of Armenia. 

R.John Howe, The “Memling” Gul Motif, The Pieces Brought In TM Symposium Show and Tell, 2010.

Pazyryk is the oldest known carpet, discovered in 1949 by archaeologist Rudenko in Altai, in the 5th kurgan of Pazyryk, hence the name of the carpet. The carpet is now housed by the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.

The carpet dates back to the 5th-4th centuries BC, its dimensions are 183x198 cm, it is woven with a density of 3600 knots/dm². It is woven entirely of wool. The carpet remained in a frozen icegrave for about 2500 years (there is a version that the grave was robbed, after which it was filled with water and froze) and thus, being free from any external influence, it has been preserved practically intact until our times. In addition, it is notable for its rich system of decoration. In this ancient carpet we see not some long-ply substitute for nomadic fur, but a multicultural, delicate, short-ply fabric made in a skilled workshop, which is admirable even for the times of our rich culture of carpet weaving.

The creation of the carpet and its belonging to any nation are still unclear and causes many disagreements.

The head of the excavations S. I. Rudenko, comparing the decorative elements of this sample and the carpets and rugs discovered in the neighboring Bashadar kurgan, as well as taking into account its harmonious color and pattern solutions, had already come to the view that the Pazyryk carpet had a Middle-Eastern origin.

Some scholars attribute the carpet to Achaemenid Persian, Turkic-Oghuz, and Sino-Mongol origins. A number of researchers, in particular Ulrich Schurmann, Volkmar Ganzhorn and others, believe that this carpet was woven in the Kingdom of Van and that it relates to Armenian culture.

Briefly describing the structure of the Pazyryk carpet, we can say that it consists of a central field, where 24 similar medallions are placed. The field is surrounded by 5 borders of different widths. The first small inner border consists of small squares, in which eagle-like  griffins appear on a yellow background. In the second inner border, on a light blue background, a row of bucks is presented, which Schurmann considers to be Middle Eastern bucks, the male counterpart to the spotted deer. The third border shows a pattern of leaves and flowers. The fourth zone is the widest, and shows riders, as well as soldiers standing on the floor and holding the reins of horses. The last border repeats the first, but the griffins are facing in the opposite direction. 

Schurman believes that the carpet was made in Sakic, the Scythian capital of the time, located south of Lake Urmia, in the country of Urartu. He justifies the fact that the city was located a little east of Nineveh, which is why the stone carpets of the palaces of Nineveh bear a strong resemblance to the medallions on the field of the Pazyryk carpet. Thus, Sakic could be the residence of the king buried in the cemetery of the Altai mountains. He was certainly an educated and bright individual and may have ordered the rug years ahead of his death and the Armenians, whose influence at that time reached from the southern slopes of the Caucasus till the north of Assyria, will have provided the wool, the artistic conception, and the magnificent workmanship of the rug.

Studying the carpet’s symbolism, Schurman concludes that it is a funeral carpet commissioned many years ago. Based on Herodotus’ description, the archaeologist believes that the Pazyryk carpet was most likely spread as a protective item under the bodies of the deceased king and queen (who, according to tradition, was supposed to die with the king). Also, according to Scythian beliefs, the buck and the griffin are symbols of the transition from life to death. Therefore, the main row of bucks and the two accompanying griffin borders are an indication by the carpet maker that the carpet was made as a funerary attribute. Schurmann also places great emphasis on the symbolism of the two non-repeating rosettes in the upper left corner, which he considers to be wheels, and again appeals to Herodotus, whose story states that during the funeral ceremony special chariots were prepared with 50 slaves and 50 horses, who accompanied the king.

Volkmar Ganzhorn, somewhat agreeing with Schurmann, nevertheless excludes that the horsemen depicted on the carpet are Scythians. Turning to the Armenian delegation depicted in the bas-reliefs of Persepolis, Golzmann believes that they are the ones who correspond to the horsemen depicted on the carpet, both in terms of the men's headdress and the size of the horses.

Ganzhorn also questions the existence of a Pazyryk funeral carpet. The procession depicted in the carpet could also be a procession of honor, and the rosettes, called wheels by Schurman, could mean loyalty until death. But they could also be symbols of the sun, at the beginning of the mounted procession, and ritual tables, between the symbols of light. It is possible that it was a throne carpet, which was placed in the grave with the deceased. However, Ganzhorn, like Schurman, considers that the carpet is Armenian and made by Armenians. Here he simply believes that the creators were Phrygian Armenians and that the Pazyryk kurgan is also not Scythian, but Phrygian-Armenian. The author also emphasizes the fact that the carpet is woven with a double knot, which is characteristic of Armenian carpet weaving.

Source:

Ulrich Schurmann, «The Pazyryk. Its Use and Origine» (in Armenian)

Volkmar Gontzhorn, «The Christian-Oriental Carpet» (in Armenian)

Ashkhunj Poghosyan, «On the Genealogy of the Pazyryk Carpet» (in Armenian)

This rug got its conventional name because of its central animal motif. The rug was found in 1890 in one of the churches of central Italy. This unique specimen dates back to the 15th-6th centuries.  The size of the rug is 164 x 91 cm and it is displayed at the Islamic Art Museum in Berlin.

Similar examples can be found in church paintings of the European Renaissance. You can also find a similar rug in Siena, on a mural by Domenico di Bartolo painted in 1440. This fact allows experts to assume that this animal-motif rug was widespread and not a rare exception.

The rug is distinguished by its archaic animal decoration, which, according to some experts, depicts the fight between the mythical dragon and the phoenix (earth and sky). Dickran Kouymjian, Professor of Armenian Studies, Emeritus, California State University, Fresno & Paris, has a different view about the rug. Since the rug does not have any inscriptions and precise dating, Kouymjian addresses the stylistic analysis and comparisons of the symbols. Thus, he goes back to Chinese art from the earliest dynasties where the dragon and the phoenix are found. In China both these creatures were considered benevolent. In time, the dragon became the symbol of the emperor and the phoenix, the empress. Up to the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Chinese did not think of them in conflict. Furthermore, except for a single bronze only recently published, there are no examples of the two animals together on the same object in Chinese, Mongol, or Islamic art until after the fourteenth century.

The earliest representation of the dragon and phoenix together is in a headpiece for the feast of the Transfiguration in the famous Armenian Lectionary of Het‘um II dated 1286. Dragon and phoenix together, along with some other Chinese mythological creatures, are found twice in the Lectionary. The crown prince Het‘um was honoring his father and mother. The dragon and phoenix together represent the king and queen of the realm ruling over an Armenia at peace as depicted in portrait miniatures of Gospels of 1262 and 1272. Furthermore, these animals and their symbolic interpretation were clearly and perfectly understood among the artists of the court, confirmed by such details as the number of claws of the dragons, since the dragons must have had different numbers of claws, depending on its affiliation. 

Kouymjian believes that the Armenian royal court acquired Chinese objects, and thus the knowledge about Chinese mythology, through the exchange of gifts between Armenian aristocracy and the Great Khan in Qaraqorum and by trade on the silk route which passed through Greater Armenia and Cilicia.

Kouymjian  concludes, that no rug weaving tradition other than the Armenian can bring along with its claim of proprietorship: 1) a long and well-documented history of weaving practice; 2) the very precocious (really unique) earliest instance of the joining together of these Chinese animals on a single object; and 3) a demonstrable understanding of what the dragon and phoenix represented to the Chinese and Mongols. 

Source: 

Dickran Kouymjian, The Berlin Dragon-Phoenix Carpet and its Probable Armenian Origin

Volkmar Ganzhorn, The Christian Oriental Carpet

The rug got its name from the archaeologist Ulrich Schurmann. There are two theories: one suggests that Schurmann compared the large medallion in the center of the rug to the shape of a water area—like Lake Sevan, while the other theory proposes that the widespread presence of the rug in the Sevan region itself influenced the choice of name. The earliest examples of Sevan rugs date back to the 19th century. The rug is also known with the name “Shield” within the rug experts. 

Designs are geometric in Sevan rugs. They characteristically have a large shield-shaped medallion that covers most of the field. The main border usually has stylized flower head, shrub, alternating angular leaves, or other motifs of Armenian rugs. The minor borders have trefoil and zigzag patterns, which are used by many Armenian weavers. Sevan rugs from the nineteenth century sometimes bear Armenian inscriptions and Christian dates. 

Sevan weavers favored strong reds, blues, greens, or ivory for the field. These colors are interchangeable for the border and medallion. Different shades of light blue, brown, cinnamon, and gold are woven for the design elements and, at times, the borders and background.

The rugs have a warp made of wool. A mixture of goat hair and wool is sometimes used. The weft is dyed-red wool or, at times, a mixture of goat hair and wool. The high-grade sheep wool pile is cut long and has a soft and shiny patina. Sevan formats range from small bags to rugs approximately eight feet by five feet. 

Sevan rugs today are known worldwide for their artistic designs and vibrant natural-dyed colors,

which are vivid and eye-catching. They are a valuable weaving product from the Caucasus region and are in strong demand in the antique market.

Source:

Abraham Levi Moheban;The Encyclopedia of Antique Carpets, Twenty Five Centuries of Weaving.

One of the most well-known types of pileless carpets woven using the sumakh technique is the Snake Carpet, which is simply and expressively referred to as "Thread-Leaving" in the villages of southern Artsakh. This name, given by villagers, originates from the long threads left on the reverse side of the weaving. The S-shaped dragon adorning the carpet is not only the next phase in the development of the "Ajdahak" carpet style but also a prototype of the more intricate dragons found in classic dragon carpets. On the international market, this type is known as Zile.

The carpet's field is entirely decorated with rows of dual-color S-shaped snake motifs. Within the coils of the dragons are the heads of sacrificial rams, and countering the dragons are two-headed, wing-spread eagles, which have been ancient heraldic symbols in Armenian art. The colorful little snakes on the dragons embody the ideas of water and fertility. Summarizing the overall symbolism of the design, it can be said that the carpet depicts the struggle between opposing earthly and celestial forces. Notably, the carpet reflects humanity's dual attitude toward dragons. On one hand, it portrays the dragons dwelling in the depths of the Earth's giant water sources, to whom rams are sacrificed for their benevolence. On the other hand, it depicts eagles ready to overcome the dragons if necessary.

In the carpet-weaving centers of Sisian, this type of carpet often accompanied "Twin-Dragon" carpets, which convey the same concept with similar symbols. To weave such a carpet, expensive cotton threads from the Sharur plain of Nakhichevan were used as warp threads, adding density and weight to the fabric.

The earliest examples of this type of pileless carpet date back to the 18th century. They are relatively narrow in size and adorned with pairs of dragons arranged side by side. These carpets were mainly used as floor coverings or had other domestic purposes.

The History Museum of Armenia holds the world’s largest collection of "Thread-Leaving" carpets.

These carpets are characteristic of the carpet-weaving centers of Artsakh, Syunik, Shirvan, and Nakhichevan.

Source: Robert H. Nooter “Flat woven Rugs and textiles from the Caucasus”

Abraham Levi Moheban “The encyclopedia of antique carpets”

Source: Armenian Carpet Art, XVII-XX cc., History Museum of Armenia. 

This type of rug (called Astgh-havk in Armenian) gets its name from the ornamental motifs present in its design. The rug features a symmetrical arrangement, with its main motif being an eight-pointed star and a blossomed cross placed in the center. The cross symbolizes the merging of masculine and feminine principles, as well as the idea of procreation.

For most variations, the shield is typically surrounded on both sides by firebirds, winged horses, or other mythical animals, linking the shield to representations of the sun and sky. The entire field of the rug is decorated with floral and small animal motifs.

By mistake, rugs of the "Astgh-havk" type are called "Aghtsafa" in literature, even though, according to the observation of the renowned Western expert on carpets, Yan Beneti, they were never woven in the mentioned settlement. In some villages of the region, the name "Astgh-havk" indicates that there was a coincidental or intentional resemblance to the place name "Aghtsafa," due to the similarity in sound.

To this day, the territorial affiliation of the "Aghstafa" type carpets remains disputed among carpet experts. The earliest examples of this type are closely related in textile terms to carpets from the Shirvan region, leading some to believe that "Astgh-havk" rugs were woven in the regions of Quba and Shirvan.

“Star-Pheasants” (Astgh-havk) type rugs are highly valued in the international carpet market due to their artistic and unique design. For such rugs, the base color is usually blue, although red is also sometimes used.

As a distinct type of rug, examples began to appear in the 19th century. The earliest examples had a specific type of woolen weave, and in rare cases, a mixture of goat hair and wool was used for the weave.

The rug is characteristic of the regions of Utik, Syunik, Vayots Dzor, and Dizak.

Source: Armenian Carpet Art, XVII-XX cc., History Museum of Armenia. 

Abraham Levi Moheban;The Encyclopedia of Antique Carpets, Twenty Five Centuries of Weaving. 

The Yerakhorran /Tri Apsidal/ (or as some scholars refer to it, Gorzi) is perhaps the oldest Armenian preserved rug with inscription. It belongs to the group of Khoran-style (Altar-style) rugs. Rugs of this type are characterized by one or more altars separated by columns, often adorned with floral elements and a hanging oil lamp at the top of the altar. In general, rugs of this group are associated with the Church and religious rituals, and they were mainly used as prayer rugs.

The decorative system of the rug is based on the principle of adorning the field with arch-shaped altars. The altars are separated by columns. The upper part of the rug’s field, left vacant, is decorated with stylized animal motifs and floral patterns. The rug is bordered with one wide band adorned with a floral chain and two narrow bands featuring acanthus leaf patterns.

Unfortunately, according to Ganzhorn, the Yerakhorran is currently considered lost, though it was previously kept in a private collection in Vienna (Ashkhunj Poghosyan considers that it is in the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna). In 1895, the German orientalist Alois Riegl first published information about the rug, basing his findings on the inscription interpreted by Father Grigor Ghalemkaryan, an Armenian scholar and member of the Mekhitarist Congregation in Vienna. Riegl concluded that the rug was woven in 1202 in Banants.

Father Ghalemkaryan’s interpretation of the inscription is as follows:
"This is the [work of] Archangel Kirakos of Banants, in memory of Hripsime of the house of Year 1250 (1202 CE). This [or I] [wove?] this craft/art." /Դ/րան Արկանելի Կիրակոսի բանասէրի ետ/?/ ա յիշատակ Հռիփսիմէի տ/ան/ն ՈԾԱ. թվին զսա Գ. /կամ Պ./ որժիս ա/րա/եստ/

There are various interpretations of the inscription, which, while differing to some extent, agree on the rug’s origin in Banants. Examples include:

• Mania Ghazaryan: "By Archangel Kirakos of Banants, in memory of Lady Hripsime, in the year 1250, this was made by me." /Արկանելի/ս/ Կիրակոսի Բանանցեցաց ի յիշատակ Հռիփսիմէ տի/կի/ն ՌԾԱ. թաին զսա գործի սա եմ/
• Vardan Temurjyan: "By Archangel Kirakos of Banants, in memory of Hripsime, of the house, in the year 1250, this I made." /«Արկանեփս Կիրակոսի բանանցեցաց ի յիշատակ Հռօփսիմէի տն ՈԾԱ. թվին զսա գործիցա ես» և այլն/

However, some scholars believe the weaver simply omitted a part of the letter "Ո" and that the actual date should be 1602 rather than 1202. Among these scholars is Volkmar Gantzhorn, who provided a different reading of the inscription and named the rug Gorzin after what he interpreted to be the name of the weaver.

Gantzhorn’s interpretation is as follows:
"Curtain for the door of the Holy Hripsime Temple, for the Holy of Holies, Lord’s Year 1051 a.p. (1602 CE or 1651). This is by me, Master Gorzin (I made or donated it)." /ՍԲ Հռիփսիմէի տաճարի Սրբաթիւն սրբոցի դռան վարագոյր Տիրոջ 1051 ա փ (Ք. հ. 1602 թ.) կամ 1651: Սա ես Գորզի վարպետս (ես եմ արել կամ նւիրաբերել) /. 

Thus, he considers that the Rug was not just a simple prayer rug, but was made as a curtain for the door of a temple. This interpretation is far away from what the letters say on the inscription of the rug. 

Source:

Volkmar Ganzhorn, The Christian Oriental Carpet

Ashkhunj Poghosyan, On the question of the origin of the "Yerakhoran" carpet.