Pazyryk carpet (based on the famous Pazyryk rug - the oldest known knotted carpet, preserved in a Scythian tomb (kurgan) from the 5th B.C.)

Code: PZ2708

Size: 196x203cm

Size (ft): 6'4"x6'7"

Area: 4.05 m²

Density: 170 000 knots per square meter, totally ~700 000 knots

Colors: red, gold yellow, yellow, light yellow, cerulean blue, variegated green, midnight blue, ivory, dark brown, light brown, gold brown, maroon, mustard, beige, khaki

Dyes: madder, weld (Reseda Luteola), indigo, pomegranate skins, walnut husks, onion skins, natural dark brown sheep wool, natural ivory sheep wool, natural lgith brown sheep wool

Materials: Handcarded and handspun wool for pile, ivory wool warps and ivory wool wefts (two shots). 1cm of flatwoven kilim ends at both sides. - wool on wool

Knots: Gördes (Turkish, symmetrical)

Pile height: 0.4cm

Ends: bundled knots

Inscriptions: A tamga found on the Pazyryk Kurgan artifact


Weaver: Rana, Parvana

Weaving Period: 4 (four) monthss

Handwoven in Azerbaijan

Design: The design is based on the famous Pazyryk rug - the oldest known knotted carpet, preserved in a Scythian tomb (kurgan) from the 5th B.C.

The brilliancy of the colours together with the fine artislic design gives quite a ravishing effect.

The inner field is consisted of 24 small, decorative squares showing the same design, a cross shaped flower -  representing four stemmed flowers all meeting and touching a small square in the centre. From the centre, four sepals branch out diagonally. The ground colour of each square is red, the flowers yellow, and Ihe sepals greenish blue (light blue in the original). The veins of the petals are dark-blue, as are the small squares in the middle. Each of these 24 squares is enclosed by the same narrow bands that separate the broad ornamental bands from each other. The narrow band is a dark-blue stripe, placed between two while stripes, and contains repeating groups of small squares or yellow-red-yellow dots. The field separating the 24 squares is also red.

The first broad ornamental band around the middle field is a row of yellow squares with cut-off corners, against a red background. These yellow squares contain one of the most fabulous animals of antiquity - the Gryphon, standing within a dark-blue jagged frame. The animal has a body and tail of a lion and eagle's head, with an open beak and a small pointed tongue. The head is looking backwards, with the neck and the wings standing upright.

The next broad band shows grazing stags going from right to left, against a green (bluish green in the original) background. There are six stags on each of the sides of the band. Their bodies are red with yellow spots and points. The antlers, eyes, the apple-and-pear-shaped spots on the shoulder-blades are yellow together with the hair on the bellies, the oval spots on the hind-legs, the tails and the hooves. The semi-horseshoe-shape spots around the oval dots on the hind legs are sky blue, and the outlines of the horses' backs are dark-blue.

The following band is narrower, and shows the same design as the squares in the middle field, but in other colours, and without a frame. Here the ground colour is yellow, the flowers green (sky-blue in the original) with the sepals red or dark-blue. The petal veins are dark blue, and the design of this band is somewhat more flighty.

The next band is the broadest band of the carpet, and also the most interesting one. Here are horses and horsemen, some mounted, other on foot, all following each other from left to right. There are seven in a row, making a total of 28 horses and horsemen. In the original rug, the horses are all light-grey, here decorated in different horse colors. The horses, robust looking animals with necks erect, a tuft of feathers on each forehead and the tails festooned with bundles of ribbon. Some kind of pad, probably made of felt, is placed on each horse's back instead of a saddle, and covered with a small carpet. The felt pad forms a complete unit with the breast-girth, and both are the same colour. The saddle carpets are tasseled down one side, and along the bottom, and are held in place on the horses' backs by the felt pad as there are no belly girths. Although these saddle carpets are different from each other as far are as colour, pattern and tassels are concerned, they are of the same style. Besides the close-fitting breast-girth, there is another loose-fitting one attached to the carpet, which is patterned and has a tassell hanging in the middle.

The treatment of the horsemen is slightly abstract. They march alongside their horses, resting their right arms on the horses' backs whilst holding the reins. Their helmets are hood-shaped and tied under the chin. Their knee-length coats are open in the front, and are decorated with braid at the hem. The close-fitting trousers fall to the ankles; the boots are cut low and very soft. The ground colour of this band is red. The horses have a yellow mane, plaited with ribbon. The horses' tails are all plaited. The hooves are yellow and the reins, saddle carpet and breast-girth are dark-blue, yellow and red.

The horsemen's helmets are gold orange, their faces white. The coats are white with red and blue.

The last band illustrates the same Gryphon/Griffin motif, but reversed left to right, so each ornamental band placed underneath the other shows the contrary movement of the figures.