Karachov Kazak
218 x 168 cm (7' 2" x 5' 6")
Caucasus, ca. 1880
Condition: good, full pile, partially corroded brown, scattered repairs
Warp: wool, weft: wool, pile: wool

Looking beyond the rich dense pile of this Karachoph Kazak rug, there are a number of unusual features to point out.
Firstly, the red ground is a lighter and brighter tone than we typically seen in this type of Kazak, and its appearance with a golden yellow ground border is particularly unusual. The main border is unique mixture of the elements used on the longer and narrower double niche Karachopf rugs, and various other Kazak rug types.
Equally the use of a light blue and deep green in the field is unusual, as are the abbreviated polychrome boxes containing comb-like motifs above and below the dominate central medallion. The best examples of this type have the long high pile of lanolin rich wool, and multicolour selvedge seen here.
While it is tempting to want to date this carpet a little earlier, it is worth noting that sometimes this is an instinct to try to express the high material and chromatic quality of a such a piece rather than acute expression of age.