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Plate no: 42
KUBA
early 19th century
1.02 x 1.32m (3'4" X 4'0")
Kuba prayer rugs of floral lattice design are considered to be among the
earliest from this region. Some types
within the Kuba group (notably Konaghend and Chichi) tend to have dark
grounds, but the lattice rugs of Kuba itself
are more or less evenly divided between dark and light. The two rugs shown
here are virtual reverse images of each
other, with one having a dark lattice field and a light border and the other
a light-ground lattice with a blue-black
border. Kuba lattice rugs are characterized by their naturalistic depiction
of flowers; most feature an
idiosyncratic three-part flower (possibly a tulip) and another flower with
leaves only on one side.1 A related group
of Kubas, of very fine weave and often with silk or cotton wefts, has only
the latter feature: this group is
exemplified by, eighteenth -century secular carpet illustrated as plate 64
in Schürmann's Caucasian Rugs. Both group
share the characteristic border design, an early and complex version of the
stylized "Kufic' script.
The rug shown in plate 42 here is probably somewhat older than that in
plate 43; the drawing
is more spacious and
the floral lattice rendered in a wonderfully naturalistic manner (a feature
of the earliest examples of this type).
Published at
Ralph Kaffel's Caucasian Prayer Rugs
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