The mountainous region of the Caucasus has been an attested center of rug production since at least the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Caucasian long rugs of this period are among the great masterpieces of classical or early rug production. In the nineteenth century the Caucasus became a major area of village rug production for export under official Russian control. Chief centers of production were Kuba, Dagestan, Shirvan, Talish and Baku in the East, and Gendje, Kazak, and Karabagh in the southwest Caucasus. While Caucasian rug designs tend to be floral, their style or rendering is usually highly abstract or geometric, with considerable emphasis on rich and varied color. Central Asia <></> Central Asia is the pre-eminent region for nomadic rug production. Chief among the rug producing Central Asian nomads were the Turkomans, whose work is prized for its precise weave and drawing, and meticulous allover repeat designs, although generally in a subdued or restricted palette. Turkoman rugs are often called “Bokara” in the rug trade, after the chief central Asian city from which they were exported to the West. Other central Asia nomads like the Baluch, Uzbeks, and Khirgiz produced bolder designs with a brighter, more varied palette, but their pattern repertory is still closely related to that of the Turkomans. In addition to floor rugs or carpets, many central Asian weavings were made as storage bags and decorative trappings | |
