"Animals" rug with star motifs (reconstruction of the 1400s (Karakoyunlu Period) Wilhelm von Bode animal motif rug from the Pergamonmuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin)

"Animals" rug with star motifs (reconstruction of the 1400s (Karakoyunlu Period) Wilhelm von Bode animal motif rug from the Pergamonmuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin)

CODE: QQBM15
Size (metric): 92x148cm
Size (ft): 3'0"x4'10"
Area: 1.36 m²
Density: 115 000 knots per square meter, totally ~160 000 knots
Weaving period: three months

Colors: madder red, medium Persian blue, navy blue, dark gold yellow, maroon, variegated sage green, dark forest green, natural ivory, natural brown.
Dyes: 100% natural dyes: madder, weld (Reseda Luteola), indigo, dyer's woad, pomegranate skins, walnut husks, natural brown sheep wool, natural ivory sheep wool - all are eco-friendly and non-toxic
Materials: Handcarded and handspun wool for pile, wool warps (natural ivory and brown twist) and red wool wefts (two shots)

Weavers' name: Könül
Handwoven in Azerbaijan, dated 1436 (2015) and signed with the tamga of Afshar tribe

Design: The field with its red ground has several rows of large eight-pointed stars. The weaver, though, has altered the motif, drawing the stars together into a long central strip, so that the individual stars can no longer be recognized. The basic shape can be seen in the small eight-sided stars in the octagons with the differently coloured ground distributed across the rest of the field. The border represents heads of birds of prey (raptor). Birds of prey are considered as ongon between Turkic people (each clan has a different totemic bird). The rug is fascinating in the arrangement of its motifs and the expressive force of the colour. The presence of the double-headed animals makes the rug an 'animal carpet'.

Pergamonmuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (inventory No. 85.984), XV century, Turkey (Ottoman) or Caucasus (Nakhchican or Kazak / Karakoyunlu State)

This rug was acquired by Wilhelm von Bode in 1885. In 1909 it was transferred from the Kunstgewerbemuseum to the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum. It was rediscovered in 1982, in the course of a reappraisal of the Turkish carpets by Friedrich Spuhler.