From Ken: "I think it is rare to have the harshang border on a prayer rug. This type of border is more associated with the Karabakh region.
I am unfamiliar with the inner border pattern.
The flowers (shield) in the field are associated with the Eastern side of the Caucasus (Kuba, Shirvan, Derbent)
The 3 cord naturally colored selvedge also reminds me of Kuba rugs from the 1920's."
Now, after days of scouring through all my books and hundreds of pictures online, I remembered your note way back and I think you're right in your opinion. The rug is a bit of this and a bit of that, (which I understand most Caucasians are) but the border on the Karabagh rug from Chelaberd shown on page 150 of Ian Bennett's Oriental Rugs and Carpets, and on the Karabagh rug on page 151, are exactly the same as on mine. And, staying with Ian Bennett, the Kuba rug from Chichi has very similar 'shields' in the field as mine, although mine aren't as detailed. To be honest, I don't know whether these are called shields, so someone please tell me the correct name. I ask, because on page 157 under Rugs of Daghestan and Lesghistan "...... are some magnificent pieces with rows of shield medallions containing heraldic-like devices which are, in fact stylized flowers." They could also be 'palmettes' I think they're called.
What I don't have is a book/dictionary/encyclopedia that could teach me the nomenclature of all the symbols and designs, but I don't know if we're allowed to recommend on the site? Wesley Marquand has suggested Peter Stone's Tribal and Village Rugs - The Definitive Guide to Design Pattern and Motif and I also wondered about The Oriental Carpet: A History and Guide to Traditional Motifs, Patterns and Symbols by Ford. Just to further the addiction. If we're not allowed, my apologies Steve and Filiberto.
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