SURAHANI BAKU
Northeast Caucasian Antique Rug

(High-Collectible) ("One of “60 Best-of-Their-Type Rugs Sold in 2023") This highly refined lowland Caucasus area size piece was woven in the hinterlands near the great port city of Baku on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Its riveting totemic visage sparks immediate collector interest. Art-level rugs from the numerous subgroups of the Caucasus Mountains often feature age-old graphic motifs that are abstractly evocative of nature. Here, this superbly crafted, nearly square rug reinvents the serrated "Ashik" motif (known from pottery found in the same region as early as 3000 B.C.) again and again across color fields of sandy camel hues, firebrick red, and denim blue. A super geometric "Tree of Life," lyrical sunbursts, diamond clusters, and other esoteric shapes abound in the exquisitely striated spandrel zones. The superb naturally dyed hues found throughout are somehow both luminous and calmly understated in effect. When married with excellent sharpness of line and motif clarity, a rare and striking style from the pantheon of 19th-century tribal woven works is created. The harmoniously scaled Kufic design in the surprising walnut brown main border effectively balances the cosmic activity of the field.

Read About Surahani Baku Rugs

Read a Summary of Caucasian Rugs

Watch Our Caucasian Rug Video

Learn About High-Collectible Rugs