293 cm x 150 cm
The Shikli rugs were woven towards the end of the nineteen century in northwest
Azerbaijan in the region of the village of Shikli. Their designs follow the tradition that
imposes a determined layout of motifs repeated in all the pieces, allowing us to
appreciate the variations in each one of them: in the colors, in the chosen filler
motifs, the way of representing them, and the inclusion of the unexpected. These
variants result from each weaver’s individual creativity while navigating the frame of
this idiosyncratic, time-honored and alluring design.
This piece shows distinctive, bizarre and probably unique characteristics: the
unfamiliar design of the lower chestnut colored central cypress tree: it grows from a
‘baroque’ trunk, the usual center with branches ending with flowers and ‘hands’ is
replaced by a ‘tree of life’ that finishes in a tiny double headed creature, and
includes pairs of very stylized birds and semi-human figures. In the center of the
piece, two atypical personages appear: a naked man in the medallion and a bizarre
figure on the right of the field with disproportionately large shoes. Symmetrically
placed, a strange ‘flaming boteh’ contains an illegible date. The medallion, the field,
and the spandrels, are crowded with animals, birds, single and double boteh, and on
the medallion’s ivory background, small colored areas show intricate and
asymmetric abstractions.
Rug Nº: 234
Price: Please ask