Request for help with dating a Kazakh rug found at a flea market

[Marta Korczynska Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Marta Korczynska]

Dear all,

I recently bought a rug for just a few euros at a flea market here in Germany. It appears to be an old Kazakh, although it’s extremely worn and damaged - when I found it, it was also wet and covered in mud..

I’m very new to rug collecting and still at the very, very beginning of learning about these pieces. For now, I’m focusing on reading as much as I can and trying to find out which types of rugs might, in the future, fit with my existing collections (of old glass and porcelain). That is why for now, I'm looking for affordable but interesting examples — like this one — so that I can learn by studying them directly. At the moment, I only own this rug and two tribal bag faces... so as I said - very beginning phase..

I would really appreciate any opinions you might have about the possible age or origin of this piece. Is it Lesghi star Kazakh? I’ve attached some photos below.

Many thanks in advance for your time and insights!

Best regards,

Marta

[Steve Price Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Steve Price]

Hi Marta

It's a 19th century Kazak (not Kazakh - those are from Kazakhstan in central Asia, Kazaks are from the Caucasus). It has great colors with obvious condition problems. Different people have different ways of dealing with things like this; if it was mine I'd have the part that still has color made into a cushion or pillow.

Best

Steve Price

[Marta Korczynska]

Hi Steve,

Thank you for your quick response!
Ah, I see — I’ve occasionally seen the name Kazakh and thought it was just different spelling..:-DDD As you can tell, there’s still sooo much for me to learn :-D!!!

I actually thought about reusing the better-preserved half, f.ex. as a cushion, but unfortunately the small, cute animal motif is on the opposite side... And as an archaeologist, I somehow feel uneasy about cutting an old(er) item apart. I’ll think about it again, maybe I’ll just fold it in half and throw it over the chair... — but thanks a lot once more for your kind help and explanation!

Best regards,

Marta

[Joseph R. Putnak Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joseph R. Putnak]

Hi Marta, Steve -

My fist impression was Shirvan from the eastern Caucasus. The picture of the back appears to show a wavy or rippled weft often found in rugs from that region. The design is sometimes referred to as "Lesghi stars" which refers to southern Dagestan but that's not to suggest that the rug was made there.

Joseph

[Marta Korczynska Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Marta Korczynska]

Joseph-

Thank you very much for your comment and identification! Even if it turns out to be a Shirvan rug rather than a Kazak, it still fit quite nicely into my small beginner’s comparative collection, I think. For now, that would give me three examples of different tribal weaving cultures, even if in all three cases with really heavy wear or repairs: the piece from the eastern Caucasus, the one from southwest Iran (the Khamseh Confederacy bag face, right?), and the one from the Kurdish mountains in between (the Jaff Kurdish bag face), if I’m remembering the two other pieces correctly... good enough (at least for now :-D). Cheers, Marta

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Karagashli end of the XIX century