Early  Shirvan prayer rug, Southern Shirvan Region, Azerbaijan. 96 x 135 cm, 3'2" x 4'5". first half 19th century, published Ralph Kaffel's Caucasian Prayer Rugs, plate 82

By all criteria, this is a 'classic' Shirvan prayer rug. In spite of its condition it has all the qualities of the best pieces: precise draughtsmanship; high-quality, finely spun wool; saturated colours, and an overall dignity of design and execution. The polychrome 'eagle's beak' border contrasts beautifully with the ivory field, which contains a great variety of naturalistic flowers. The prayer arch, which is very fine and carefully rendered, picks up the 'crosses and sevens' pattern of the guard borders but is on a green ground. This subtle use of green draws additional attention to the prayer arch.

Naturalistic flowers and fine, precise prayer arches without serrated edges are widely believed to be a characteristic of older Shirvans - This example lends support to that theory. Two gold-ground examples with similar prayer arches are also known to exist; these probably date to a generation later and arc perhaps an attempt to emulate the earlier ivory-ground pieces.