BORDJALOU KAZAK
Southern Central Caucasus Antique Rug

(High-Collectible) ("One of “60 Best-of-Their-Type Rugs Sold in 2023") The rugged, mountainous terrain of the Caucasus region, an area that spans modern day Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, and the influence of numerous cultures, including Persian and Turkish, have contributed to the development of the unique and captivating designs that characterize Kazak weavings. This striking piece presents the plethora of ancestral symbolic motifs at disparate angles to demonstrate teeming life in perpetual movement. Four human figures are included, fittingly of diminutive proportions to the entire composition. Note their tiny horses grazing nearby. The central vertical column consists of three stepped diamonds interspersed with two ivory rectangles enclosing the “Ram’s Horn” motif, all resting upon an abrashed sapphire ground. These primary motifs are flanked by two rows of smaller rectangles, each bearing the “Ram’s Horn”. Four numbers in white at the very top of the field appear to read 2165, likely an attempt by illiterate tribespeople to write 1265 AH or 1853 AD. The ivory main border is adorned with the revered “Oak Leaf and Chalice” design, an ancient border motif composed of deeply serrated diagonal leaves interspersed with a “chalice," or perhaps botanically, the calyx of a flower.

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