Tag Archives: caucasian carpets

Arastan at Good Earth in Mumbai: 4-13 March 2013

By Mike | Published: 1 March 2013
Kazak Polychromatic Latch Hook Carpet

We’re delighted to be returning to Mumbai to feature the best of artistic traditions from the Silk Route, this time at Good Earth’s flagship store at Raghuvanshi Mills, Lower Parel, for 10 days from from Monday 4 to Wednesday 13 March.

The caravan of treasures includes carpets from across the Caucasian region and from Kurdistan, embroidered glassware from Azerbaijan and a new collection of our popular blue ceramic and silk ikat from Uzbekistan, as well as our one-of-a-kind tribal cushions and ottomans.

Rugs include some much sought after collector’s pieces such as those from Shirvan and Quba in the Caucasus, plus Gabbehs and other tribal Persian carpets, and remarkable new Daizangi kilims from Afghanistan. More Uzbek ceramic includes smaller platters and plates, and we have an entirely new collection of  silk cushions made with authentic fabrics including Uzbek ikat and Moroccan sabra silk.

This coincides with a series of events planned as …

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Caucasian Carpets: Realities on the Ground

By Rolando | Published: 27 November 2012
Urartian elements

It has been a busy week in Armenia, and after having seen too many medieval monasteries and khachkars and carpets, and met with so many artisans and manufacturers and traders, I am exhausted and ready to go home. But I must not forget my primary mission here in the Caucasus: I came for the carpets. So an overall assessment of the state of the Caucasian rug, both old and new, is in order.

The musings that I have summarised below are based on empirical research, if we can call it that—what I have seen and experienced at several carpet factories and workshops, as well as many carpet showrooms and dealers.

An Art Revived: New Carpet Production

In both Armenia and Azerbaijan there are just a few carpet manufacturers who produce quality rugs using traditional hand-knotting techniques in significant (i.e., export-friendly) quantities. This is reassuring, because we all know and agree, …

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Caucasus Reconnaissance

By Rolando | Published: 5 November 2012
Pomegranate seller in Quba

Remember me? Several months ago I wrote a short primer on carpet motifs on this blog. I was a complete novice in all matters woven back then, and the blog entry was as much an attempt to educate myself as it was a presentation on the topic. I did it because my old friend Nisha – never a stranger to pressing friends, family and sundry strangers into unpaid servitude – realised that I was living in Turkey and at a loose end, and quickly seized on the opportunity.

You’re in Turkey, she said, so inform yourself about carpet designs. Later she said, casually, you should find out more about Caucasian rugs in particular, because they are striking and unusual, and I want to add more of them to Arastan’s portfolio. And then, quite brazenly, the Caucasus is so much closer for you than for me, why don’t you do a short reconnaissance trip …

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    Arastan was an online store that curated rare and handpicked treasures from exotic bazaars along the ancient silk route. Unfortunately we ceased trading in early 2014.

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