Antique Shirvan Prayer rug, Shirvan Region, Chukhanli village, Azerbaijan. 103 x 173 cm. 1900s

The elongated prayer gable (tagh) of the light central field has a prayer niche (mihrab) which covers nine tenths of the surface. It is ornamented with staggered lozenges which have unusually large hooks. The colours of both the lozenges as well as their rosettes have been selected in such a way that they form diagonal rows. This effect gives the central field calmness which would not have been the case otherwise because of the hooks. At the side, small amulets such as triangles, lozenges and combs have been woven into the carpet. They have a protective purpose. The mihrab shows a pentagon with four flaps at the bottom and two big leaves which are parallel to the diagonal stripes. As we mentioned before, this motif is known from various regions. The two hexagons with their disproportionate extensions at the top give an extremely archaic and overwhelming impression. Normally they cover the spots which the prayer's hands touch when he bends down (sajdeh or sujud) as part of his prayers. The three-stripe border composition is designed as a row of star blossoms. The minor borders differ from the main border in terms of dimension; the main border is almost twice as big as the minor ones.

wefts: camel hair

warps: wool