Guide to
Akstafa Rugs
First time published in Oriental
Rug Notes. This short extract of the original
article is republished by courtesy of the author J. Barry
O'Connell.
What
is an Akstafa rug? A rather basic question but now that I have collected a
few examples I started looking at how best to describe them. In particular
I was looking at a magnificent example from J. C. Oliveira of Macau.
Jorge wrote in reference to a magnificent Akstafa:
"There aren't many ‘Akstafa' rugs without the traditional large
birds on the field. This is one of those few. Also it is uncommon to find
those ‘T'-shaped motifs. The same is valid for the small cruciform
hooked motif at the medallions' centre. But the most unlikely depiction is
the profusion of Talish rosettes, so typical of Talish rug borders. We
find it in this rug's borders and inside the medallions. This feature
confirms Ian Bennett, Murray Eiland and Harold M. Keshishian's opinion
that most of the denominated ‘Akstafa' rugs were actually not woven on
the large town in the Kazak weaving district (near Lambalo and Shulaver)
but rather on the Shirvan weaving area, probably on south Shirvan. The
magnificent colours of this rug also suggest a southern Shirvan
attribution."
So obviously when Jorge Oliveira, Ian Bennett, Murray Eiland and Harold
M. Keshishian agree on something it is a pretty safe bet. I can not think
of anyone who I respect more in the field of Caucasian Pile rugs although
there are a few fellows at that level.
So then why not follow the leaders and attribute Akstafa Rugs to South
Shirvan and be done with it? Well as I was looking for background
information and local color I stumbled across an important find. In the
Council of Europe Minister's Deputies CM Documents I found CM(2002)10
Addendum 4 (unclassified) 14 February 2002. The document gives clear and
compelling proof that in the Akstafa region there is an Azeri enclave that
includes the villages of Sadykhly and Boyuk (Boyuk Kazak) in Azerbaijan
and the villages of Nazarly, Voyovka and Jandar in the Gardabani region of
Georgia.
The people in South Shirvan who weave colorful rugs like this were
Azeri. Now I differ with men such as Eiland in some respects. Murray
places far more importance on geographic considerations than I do. I take
an ethno-linguistic approach. I expect Azeri rugs to look like Azeri rugs
no matter where in Azerbaijan they were woven. So Azeri who live near the
Kazak region are still Azeri so the rugs they weave should be more like
their kinsmen in South Azerbaijan than their unrelated neighbours.
To put it simply I feel that it is reasonable to attribute the Azeri
rugs that we call Akstafa to the Azeri of the Akstafa region.
Read more
at Oriental Rug Notes.
