A BRAND OF AZERBAIJANI HISTORY AND CULTURE

Carpet weaving is an ancient form of Azerbaijani decorative and applied arts. Archaeological research data carried out in Azerbaijan and literary monuments testify to the fact that the art of carpet-making has its roots deep in antiquity. Carpets and tapestries produced in Azerbaijan have often been extolled in many history books, classical literature and folklore.

It is impossible to describe an Azerbaijani carpet. It has to be seen: it embodies all the many colours of Azerbaijan's nature - the deep blue of the sky and the green of the forests, the deep shadows on the mountain slopes and the whiteness of its snowy peaks. The wonderfully iridescent colours of a carpet embody the ruby clarity of pomegranate skins and the golden radiance of the queen-apple, the copper of the crocus and the purple shades of the grape. The rich texture of the patterns, a flight of creative fantasy and supreme skill is what makes an Azerbaijani carpet.

The history of carpets

The spread and development of carpet-making in Azerbaijan, which academic sources trace back to the second millennium BC (the Bronze Age), was helped by favourable geographical and climatic conditions, as well as the domination of land husbandry among the business activity of the population. Herodotus, Claudius Elian, Xenophon and other ancient historians have all written about this.

Carpets, which were originally used as counterpanes, bedding and tent curtains, gradually acquired great artistic importance, satisfied people's aesthetic requirements and became an indelible part of their way of life and a leading area of their productive activity. In the Sassanid era (3rd-7th centuries) carpet art in Azerbaijan had become further developed and magnificent carpets of silk and gold and silver threads were manufactured. The production of carpets woven by gold and silver threads and decorated with valuable stones became a tradition in the 16th and 17th centuries. Azerbaijani silk carpets are praised in the epos "Kitabi-Dede Gorgud". In the 13th-14th centuries a large number of carpets and tapestries were exported abroad from Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani carpet has always been an item of export. Starting with the 14th century, these articles paved the way to Europe. The history of carpet-making began with the manufacture of lint-free carpets. In style of weaving, compositional structure, richness of ornamental design and colour they may be divided into eight types: Palaz, Calim, Ladi, Kilim, Sedde, Zili and Sumax. However, the opportunity for graphic reproduction of an image and special artistic expression was linked, of course, with the emergence of pile carpets. Azerbaijani carpet-making, which has been developing throughout all stages of history and has become an indelible part of its ethnic culture, may be conveniently divided into the Baku, Quba, Sirvan, Ganca, Qazax, Karabakh and Tabriz schools, which are distinguished from one another by their own compositional structure and the originality of their rich motifs, harmony of colours and technical characteristics.

Regional styles

The ornamentation of Quba carpets comprises stylized botanical, sometimes zoomorphous motifs of ornaments from geometric patterns. Baku carpets are noted for their great softness, intense colours, unique artistic elements and intricacy of patterns. Ellipses of geometrical shape (so-called "gels"), botanical elements and curved lines predominate in the ornamentation. Dark-blues and occasionally reds and yellows are mainly used in the intermediate spaces in the Baku group of carpets.

The rich compositions of the Sirvan carpets, with their complex patterns, have been well known since the Middle Ages. Back in the 14th-15th centuries these carpets were admired by European artists. Ganca became famous as a centre for the production of silk and woollen fabrics and silk carpets. In Ganca, which for many centuries was a centre for the manufacture of high-quality carpets, there were special carpet-making workshops.

In the carpets of these schools a harmonious colour scheme is created by a small number of colours. The patterns of the Ganca and Qazax carpets even in the Middle Ages were attracting the attention of European artists. In Karabakh sets of carpets - a gyabe of five carpets adapted to the interiors of homes - were widely distributed. Karabakh carpets have a most rich palette of colours which reflects the finest shades of Karabakh's nature. According to traditions which have developed since ancient times, the background in the intermediate spaces of Azerbaijani carpets is filled with red. Along with plants, dyes are obtained also from insects, among which the most widespread source of red dye is the cochineal. 

The Tabriz school of carpet-making is the oldest and best known in Azerbaijan. Its heyday was in the 11th-12th centuries and in the 13th-14th centuries it acquired the artistic characteristics of the Tabriz school of miniature painting, and in the 16th-17th centuries achieved a high level of development. Thick-pile and lint-free carpets, which are related to this school, are noted for their artistic design, harmony of colours and variety of ornamentation.

The re-creation of carpet-making schools

Today at the Azer-Ilme open joint-stock company legendary Azerbaijani carpets are woven by hand, just as they were centuries ago. This means that it is virtually impossible to find two carpets that are identical in pattern and colour. Engineers, artists, carpet-makers - all these people create these remarkable carpets, and in the process of their manufacture the weavers use only three tools - a special knife, a beetle and scissors. What is surprising is that at this enterprise the carpets are created in accordance with contemporary style and the technological parameters demanded by international standards, while still preserving Azerbaijani carpet-making traditions. And if you run your hand over a carpet lovingly created by the honest and work-worn hands of the weaver then you can feel a warmth almost instantly developing over the whole body.

One senses an inexpressible aroma, a feeling of cosiness and time on which the carpets themselves are not at all dependent. And it is already possible to sense the idea of a magic carpet and its ability to fly and move about in space and time. In the carpets there is history, everyday life, tradition, purport, a rhythm perpetuated in the patterns, the richness of Azerbaijani culture, luxury and national rhetoric.  

The natural wool and silk from which the carpets are woven are decorated using dyes only originating from plants. All that is required for this are a walnut shell, the leaves of the mulberry tree and sea salt. The organic essence of the dyes emphasizes the emotional expressiveness of the carpets, their clarity and the fullness of their colour lay-out, imparting them with an almost endless and mystical beauty. It was precisely the skilled craftsmen of Azer-Ilme who made a copy of the magnificent Azerbaijani carpet "Sheikh Safi", a masterpiece of Sephevid culture and the most intricate carpet of its time. The original is preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Preserving traditions

The Azer-Ilme enterprise opened in 1996. Here, along with the rebirth of unique, but forgotten carpet compositions a great deal of work is being carried out to develop artistic traditions and produce the Azerbaijani carpets that adorn many museums of the world and private collections, and efforts are being made to organize their sale on the foreign market and to advertise them in a proper manner. The purpose is to perpetuate and develop the traditions of the art of the Azerbaijani carpet. Proceeding from this objective, using already forgotten ancient carpet compositions, high-quality carpets are being manufactured and carpet weavers are endeavouring to pass this legacy on to future generations. After all, a colossal amount of work by artists, art experts, dyers, weavers and other specialists goes into making one carpet. Of course, all this work is an artistic conception. Embodied in woollen and silk carpets, carried out in national traditions and meeting international standards, it requires of the carpet-makers special knowledge, taste, know-how and skill. One may confidently say that Azerbaijani specialists in the field of carpet-making possess all these professional qualities. Thus, it is precisely at the Azer-Ilme enterprise that honorary guests of the country, when they come to Azerbaijan, acquaint themselves with the process of carpet-weaving - how the threads and silk are painted in natural dyes and how much attention, responsibility and work goes into each nap. This is where love and respect for Azerbaijani carpets comes from.

The weavers are creating real masterpieces based on ancient national traditions. This is not just a production site, it is a creative studio. The Sirvan and Abseron traditions of carpet-making are today being recreated in Azerbaijan. The weaving shops in areas which since ancient times have been centres of carpet-making - the Baku suburbs of Nardaran, Bina, Hokumali and Lokbatan, the plain town of Sirvan - Kurdamir and in mountainous Lerik - have gained great prestige not only in Azerbaijan, but also internationally thanks to the high level of the work in continuing the national traditions of carpet-weaving which have developed over many centuries. The artistic and technical traditions of carpets woven by craftsmen in Qazax, Borchaly, Goyca, Zangazur, Agbaba, Daracicek, Pasali, Calaloglu, Hamamli, Sarur-Dereleyaz, Derbent, Tabriz, Ardebil, Saraba and other historic areas of Azerbaijan continue to develop.

Azerbaijani carpets are distinguished by their finest workmanship, their high knot density, their unique design and their cheerful and harmonious colour schemes. The wool yarn, produced in the Baku, Quba and Sirvan regions according to ethnic traditions, and silk fibre, produced in Seki, is bundled for delivery to the dye-houses. Here the threads are dyed. The birth of a masterpiece is preceded by the work of professional artists who prepare detailed sketches for each carpet, a decorative cross-stitch canvas, landscape motifs, a colour scheme and a variety of shades defining the technical parameters. Up to 900 different carpet designs have already been drawn up at Azer-Ilme. Here at the looms, manufactured from the best quality and durable materials and possessing state-of-the-art technological performance capabilities, silk and woollen carpets of various sizes (from 1 to 40 sq m) and density are manufactured in the shortest possible time.

National colouring

Azerbaijani carpets are unique in their complex geometric and botanical ornamental design and are distinguished by an ingenious system of spiroid and other patterns. If you study the carpets closely you can see that each has its own individuality, style and quality in colour and fabric, ornamentation, pattern and design. All this constitutes the variety and richness of Azerbaijani carpet-weaving. Azerbaijani carpets are irreplaceable because of their diversity and richness of colour. In other countries carpet patterns are frequently repeated, but never in Azerbaijan.

And today Azerbaijani carpets and their universal works of art enjoy a world reputation and glory. The art of the Azerbaijani carpet reflects the spiritual world, an aesthetic feeling, the natural talent and the philosophical world outlook of the people of Azerbaijan who have a centuries-old history. One could go on talking about these masterpieces for ever.

"Eurovision" and Azerbaijani carpets

This year, in the run-up to "Eurovision-2012" in Azerbaijan a record number of carpets were woven. The weavers were confident that none of the guests at the competition would leave the country without a souvenir. After all, the beauty of Azerbaijan's national carpets is impossible to resist.

The special feature of these carpets is their vivid colours and the harmonious blend of luscious and what would seem incongruous colours. The art of selecting and blending colours in Azerbaijan is taught from childhood. In the carpet museum there is even a special programme for schoolchildren "Select your own carpet".

The participants in the master-class are shown various options of colouring a carpet - they can take traditional drawings or make their own virtual carpet from a choice of patterns. The boldest will sit at the loom and try to complete the carpet begun by the craftswoman. The lessons are accompanied by a talk on the history of this craft which began thousands of years ago.

In the workshops carpets are woven on large looms. Work on one carpet takes about a month depending on the size. Two or three weavers work on it. The cost of such treasures is from $200 to 500,000 manats. Weavers today weave their carpets based on old designs using the same dyes as their great-grandmothers. The palette is a huge one but black is used only for edging. Red, white and dark blue are used as the basis for creating a drawing. It could be a flower, a horse, a camel or a bird. Depending on the region the picture may be placed in the centre of the carpet, along the edges or all over.

The craftsmen say that it is loyalty to traditions that makes Azerbaijani carpets so recognizable. Each one is a real work of art. And like any work of art, it is priceless.