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The blue field of this Avshan-pattern Kuba prayer rug is designed on a
triple vertical axis. It contains most of the elements typical of the late
eighteenth century floral carpets from the southern Caucasus attributed by
Charles Grant Ellis to the Shusha area of Karabagh.
This is the only known prayer carpet to employ the earlier naturalistic
rendering of the Avshan pattern; the three known analogous examples are
drawn in a much more angular, geometric style with larger, right-angled
leaves and stepped cruciform flowerheads. The pattern in the prayer arch is
typical of Kuba rugs. The main border is also characteristic of prayer rugs
from this area, employing a spacious, well-drawn version of the 'Kufic'
border on a rich red ground. The flowering vine minor border is uncommon in
east Caucasian rugs and is more frequently seen in south Caucasian pieces.
It is also used as the main border in an early Avshan carpet published by
Yetkin.
Published at Ralph Kaffel's Caucasian Prayer Rugs, plate 44
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