Tweet
Today I'd like to share photos of a long Karaja rug and ask for your comments on the colors used and its age. The rug is 410 cm long, 90 cm wide at the bottom, and only 80 cm wide at the top. I'm glad the rug is so narrow, as it fits well in one of the narrow hallways in my apartment. The difference in width suggests to me that different weavers were involved, or that one weaver gained experience while knotting it. The pile is almost completely intact and is thick and shaggy. Unfortunately, it has many holes, which are probably due to improper storage in damp conditions. I like the design, especially the depiction of people and animals. The people appear to be wearing festive clothing. Some of the colors look synthetic, especially the bright orange and the purple tones. On the other hand, both colors have hardly faded. The back and front are identical. I'm very curious to hear your comments.
-
-
Dear Heinz,
This runner looks to be NWP Kurdish to me (e.g., the interlaced end finishes). Then again, a lot of rugs look Kurdish to me:-) As for the colors, despite the absence of obvious fading there is a high probability that many of them (esp. the bright orange and perhaps the some of the purples) were obtained using synthetic or part synthetic dyes. It was mainly the first generation aniline dyes that tended to fade badly; second generation synthetic dyes (e.g., azo dyes) were light-fast although they had a tendency to run or bleed when wet unless well fixed. I had a Kuba rug with a similar orange that did not run or bleed when I washed it, although I am sure it was dyed with a synthetic dye.
Base on the probable presence of synthetic dyes, I think the rug is unlikely to pre-date the first half of the 20th century. In any case, I can see what attracted you to it. It is quite an interesting piece!
JosephLast edited by Joseph R. Putnak; 12-01-2025, 06:41 PM. -
Heinz,
I found this detail image of a rug I had labeled as "NW Persian Kurdish runner, East Azerbaijan, mid-19th century" in my image library. I do not where the image originally came from or the accuracy of the attached information. In any event, the field and inner border design are similar to your rug.
Joseph
https://i.postimg.cc/WzJtTw6c/NW-Per...mid-19th-c.jpg
PS: I tried using the site software to upload the image directly but was unsuccessful.
Comment
-
Very nice rug, Heinz! My parents had a Karadja runner (88x308 cm) which they bought back in 1963 for 980 SEK. My sister used to play hopscotch on it, so it went to her when my mother died. It fitted perfectly in my parents' hallway also! Here it is:
Last edited by Erik Persson; 12-01-2025, 07:28 PM.Comment
-
Thank you very much for the interesting posts, especially on the history of synthetic dyes. Here is another photo of a similar rug.
Attached FilesComment
-
-
It’s interesting how two rugs, which are probably similar in age, from roughly the same region of Iran, and with equal claim to the 'Karaja' moniker can be so different. Not being able to examine them directly I am guessing that Eric’s rug has a cotton foundation with one weft shot between rows of knots and multi-ply (3 or more strand) cotton warps; whereas, Heinz’s rug has a wool foundation with two or more shots of weft between rows of knots and probably 2-ply (or possibly 3-ply) wool warps. In terms of design, Eric’s rug is more commercial in inspiration (possibly from a workshop-like environment) and quite similar to commercial carpets from the nearby Heriz district. In contrast, Heinz’s rug is much more traditionally “tribal” in character, with nearly the same design as seen in rugs at least a couple of generations earlier. Although the population of East Azerbaijan province in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was, to my understanding, predominately Turkic, can we say for sure that Heinz’s rug was not made by a Kurdish group. I wish I knew more about the history of rug weaving in that region.
Joseph
PS: I previously had a long rug/runner in my collection with a main border design like that on Heinz's rug. But because of the coloration and the elaborate end finishes I believed it to be a Kurdish product. However, my recollection is that it had 3-ply (rather than 2-ply) wool warps, which seems to rule out a Kurdish attribution.Last edited by Joseph R. Putnak; 12-02-2025, 12:27 PM.Comment
-
Joseph,
Thanks for the suggestion. I took a closer look at the lower right corner and took some photos. The warp threads are made of two strands of wool. To complicate matters, the two strong threads on the sides are made of four strands of cotton. Were the sides repaired and have a new overcasting?
Comment
-
Additional pictures of the upper left corner.
Comment
-
Heinz,
I think you may be correct that the selvedge and side cords were replaced at some point. I suppose it is possible that the cotton side cords are original, but normally the weaver would have simply overcast the wool warps on both sides of the rug. Is anyone aware of rugs from this area with all wool foundations but cotton side cords?
This rug may be a little earlier than I thought - possibly late nineteenth century. I seem to remember reading somewhere than synthetic Azo dyes arrived in the southeastern Caucasus/Persian East Azerbaijan after around 1880.
JosephComment
-
Are the brown threads marked with red arrows the threads used to re-wrap the sides?
Attached FilesComment
-
-
I admire the knowledge of Joesph concerning dyes. Very good information.
I would like to comment on the piece being more narrow at one end by 10cm. I have always attributed this to a rug being made from a homemade loom from tree branches. I believe these are made in villages with limited resources. Most of my village pieces are off in size stemming from Turkey all the way to Afghanistan. Some Tekke pieces I have even have a bent side to them. Kind of like a pronounced elbow versus being straight. I have not found any information on why this happened.Comment
-
Heinz, unless I'm mistaken those are extra edge wefts, integral to the carpet rather than added later. They appear to be light brown wool. It is hard for me to tell from the pictures if they are the same color and ply as the other wefts. It would make sense if the weaver used the same material.
I have seen this technical feature before in books but I cannot remember where. These extra wefts serve a specific function and have a name. Does anyone know?
Joseph
PS: If the yarn was added later to wrap replaced side cords there would be no need to penetrate so deeply into the rug body. Those yarns you pointed out are almost certainly original to the rug.
PPS: Maybe the word I was trying to think of was anchor wefts
PPPS: Finally found the answer in Marla Mallett's book, 'Woven Structures', p. 152, Plate 15.72: "wedge shapes formed in one section of an erratically attached selvedge. The selvedge interlacing penetrates two warps into the knotted pile area..." (a technical feature seen in a "South Caucasian" rug)
PPPPS: A related but somewhat different technique used to wrap a rug selvedge is referred to as "weft inlays". This practice is also discussed in Mallett, p. 152, Plate 15.72Last edited by Joseph R. Putnak; 12-02-2025, 06:45 PM.Comment
-
Very interesting! I must get that book. Thank you again. I'll check right away to see if I can find this characteristic in other carpets.Comment
-
Joseph,
I took a picture of the backside of the upper right corner. The selvedge yarn here has different shades of purple. It reaches 3 to 5 cm into the rug structure on every 2 to 4 cm length. The wefts are of light brown wool.
I also found a text on this topic, written by Marla Mallett as an update to her book.
Heinz
Attached FilesComment
-
-
Sorry, wrong picture. Here is the right one.
Comment
Comment