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 Mordants

 Difference between synthetically and naturally dyed rugs

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Hook
Karabagh region (?), Azerbaijan, circa 1700
60 x 87 cm (24 x 34 in), incomplete, silk embroidery in counted stitch on cotton

The surviving panel shown here represents a little less than a quarter of this group 3c embroidery's original size. It is probable that the design was mirrored both vertically and horizontally; thus, from this remaining section it is possible to envisage the complete textile.

A hook or curled leaf motif, as with the designs of other embroideries of this type, shows all the characteristics of abstract animal motifs. This textile displays a particular clarity of drawing and boldness of design.

Published and exhibited: Wiesbaden, Rippon Boswell, Textile Art of the Caucasus, brochure to accompany an exhibition organised by The Textile Gallery, 6 to 18 October 1996, text by Michael Franses, London, 1996, fig. 6 (in colour).