Carpet with Triple Lozenge-Medallion Design

This large carpet is representative of the Transcaucasian weaving tradition with its bold overall design, geometricized patterns, and contrasting rich color palette. Here, a series of three large lozenges form a triple medallion design in blue and yellow edges with white, red, and green on a bright blue ground that align with a prominent central axis in the center field. Geometriziced motifs and patterns echoing those found on tribal rugs of the region between Turkey and Iran decorate the field. The border on a yellowish tan ground is filled with reversed S-shaped motifs typically found on "Dragon carpets" of the region. These patterns are in blue, red, green, and violet, guard stripes in red and blue. These visually powerful designs are especially striking on a carpet of this large size. They were preferred by commercial workshops, where such carpets with a low knot-count were produced in large quantities for trade. Rugs from the broad Transcaucasian region are woven in diverse centers representing a multi-ethnic society in which Armenians, Turkic, Kurdish, Persianate, and other people lived alongside each other. While this diverse society may complicate the attribution to a particular workshop and its cultural identity, it may help to explain the development of a shared repertoire of rich and colorful designs often found in these Transcaucasian rugs. Although compositions often relate to traditions that developed in workshops in regions between Iran and Turkey, as well as tribal weaving traditions, such rugs bear distinctive features that stand out as artistic hallmarks of the vast and diverse Transcaucasian region.