Sunburst Karabagh (Adler Kazak, or so called Chelaberd) rug / Qarabağ Çələbi xalçası (Kəlbəcər Mahalı)
CODE: KRCHL18
Size (metric): 138x173cm
Size (ft): 4'6"x5'8"
Area: 2.38 m²
Density: 112 000 knots per square meter, totally ~ 275 000 knots
Pile height: 0.3 cm
Ends: braided
Weaving period: 3 months

Colors (10): madder red, navy blue, sky blue, royal blue, beige, gold yellow, maroon, variegated light green, natural ivory, natural brown.
Dyes: 100% natural dyes: madder, weld (Reseda Luteola), indigo, pomegranate skins, walnut husks, natural brown sheep wool, natural ivory sheep wool - all are eco-friendly and non-toxic
Materials: Handcarded and handspun wool for pile, ivory wool warps and madder dyed red wefts

Weavers: Çiçek & Fidan
Handwoven in Azerbaijan

Design: The design of the present example belongs to an exceptionally rare group of Chelaberd rugs. 

7 known antique examples which comprise this group and which spawned thousands of copies in the second half of the 19th century are:

1. In the Victoria and Albert Museum (HALI, vol.,3, no.2, p.99, fig.7)

2. The red Herrmann/Bortz/Fernandes (H/B/F) rug (Herrmann, Seltene Orientteppiche IV, Munich, 1982, no.44, pp.146-7; HALI vol.5, no.2, p.208, pl.7; The Bortz Collection, Sotheby's London, 29 May 1998, lot 13; HALI 112, September/October 2000, p.141) - SOLD for 233 000 USD

3. The blue ground Herrmann starburst rug (Antichi Tappeti dell'Anatolia e del Caucaso, exhibition, Turin, reviewed Hali 33, January/March 1987, p.58; HALI 35, July/September 1987, gallery advertisement p.XV (Clive Rogers and Arky Robbins); Herrmann, Eberhart: Seltene Orientteppiche IX, Munich, 1987, no.25, pp.66-7; Sotheby's New York, 14 December 1995, lot 58; HALI 85, March/April 1996 auction price guide p.135; HALI 112, September/October 2000, p.141).

4. The red starburst medallion rug formerly in the James D. Burns Collection sold in these Rooms 18th October 2001, lot 277.

5. The sunburst Kazak in the collection of the National Gallery of Prague (illustrated in 'Exhibitions in Brief', Hali 149, November 2006, p.99)

6. The Richardson sunburst medallion rug, current whereabouts unknown (Through the Collector's Eye, ; Oriental Rugs from New England Private Collections, Rhode Island, 1991, fig.4, p.18)

7. The Liambei rug, sold at Christie's, 7 October 2010, lot 97 ('APG', Hali 167, p.157).

The Liambei rug is close to the H/B/F and the Burns examples