Tabasaran handmade carpet: photo

As you know, in India they make tea, cars - in Germany, and magnificent hand-woven fleecy wool carpets, amazing beauty of color combinations and patterns - in Tabasaran. In Dagestan, carpet weaving is considered the most common, in addition, one of the most ancient types of applied art. In this article we will find out what the hand-made Tabasaran carpets are, the photos of which are given below.

History of appearance

About Dagestan carpets the first mention can be seen in the works of Herodotus "Fathers of History". The traditions of craftsmen of the East are based on the Dagestan classical carpet weaving. For many centuries the Europeans sent trade expeditions to China and Persia, from there to bring silk and carpets. Every self-respecting monarch or aristocrat had a scattering of oriental wonderfully beautiful carpets. By the way, the oldest carpet, which reached the present day, was found in 1949 during excavations, and is now included in the gold collection of the famous Hermitage.

Purpose

It is strange to think that initially carpets were invented simply as a luxury item. Even the most expensive carpet of Tabasaran originally had a narrow functional character.

In the antiquity in the East, mostly, the nomads lived. And what is most important for a nomad? The first is excellent mobility, the second is the quick arrangement of your home, the third is reliable protection against negative climatic factors, in other words, to be dry and warm. In full measure, the carpets met all these requirements, which are necessary for normal life of nomads. Of course, those carpets differed very much from those that we see today. But in this way it was laid the beginning of carpet weaving.

Only then did people realize that a carpet can be not just a defense against the wind, it is also an excellent way to stand out among the relatives. Thus, we began to weave exquisite and beautiful carpet products. This led to the fact that the beauty, quality and quantity of carpets began to determine the level of human well-being. At the same time, every ruler of the East tried to surround himself with exquisite and expensive products, thus emphasizing his superiority.

Quality

By the way, do you know how in Dagestan in antiquity checked every Tabasaran carpet for quality? Quality control was previously conducted in 3 stages. First: a wagon of horses was passing along the woven carpet. Second: after that the product was kept for several days under the scorching sun rays. The third: carpets were lowered into cold water, which was left for a certain time. In case if after such "tests" the carpet product did not lose its properties, then it was believed that the master did a good job. These are the technologies!

Tabasaran VS Persian carpets

Is it possible to compare the whole Tabasaran carpet with Iranian (Persian) carpet? You can and should do it. Though it is not necessary to belittle the glory, talent and quality of work of Iranian craftsmen, while the facts remain facts. The Persian carpet has an average "lifespan" of up to 150 years, while carpets of Dagestan "will live" to 400 years. If, of course, they are "exploited" for their intended purpose. In this case, all the above figures can be attributed only to carpets produced by hand.

Varieties

In the south of Dagestan three factors contributed to the rapid development of carpet making: the proximity of Iran (Persia); That in this place was the Great Silk Road; The active spread of Islam. For several centuries in the Caucasus, the center of trade was the city of Derbent, which served as an outpost between East and West. The city was a part of the silk route. Of course, this gave impetus to the active development of various crafts, in particular, carpet weaving. In addition, many traders understood that in Derbent it was possible to find woolen threads of various colors and colors (local artisans received natural dyes from herbs and shrubs).

You can also explain the impact of the spread of Islam in the North Caucasus. Persian artisans and merchants were more likely to share their secrets, and the goods were more often bought from the Muslim population. In addition, and up to the present moment it is customary to perform prayer (pray) on rugs, called "namazlyki."

This all affected the active development of the craft among the inhabitants of the North Caucasus. Although it would be strange to say that only Tabasarans differ in the traditions of carpet weaving. Note that this is considered their national craft. At the same time, all the peoples of Dagestan were engaged in carpet weaving. Thus, the Lezgins in the villages of Kura, Akhty, and Kasumkent wove carpets with great success. Avars from the village Tsada Khunzakh, Gergebil produced high-quality lint-free carpets. At the same time, Dargins from the village of Levash produced woolen carpets. Living in the villages of Kayakent, Durgeli, Buglen Kumyks produced woolen patterned carpets and felt carpets. So you can list almost every people who invested great efforts in the development of this craft.

Pile carpets

You can tell a very long time about different types of pile carpets, but this makes little sense. Let's talk about their features. So, the pile of the Tabasaran carpet in the traditional version can be recognized by various geometric images, which embody animals, plants and people. Consequently, before the skilful with the help of these geometric images demonstrated the world around them. Scientists call this phenomenon "the language of carpet art". By the way, on such products, very often depicted whole rites, battles and scenes. Over time, this language was lost, and the pictures began to be just decorative.

It should be noted that all such carpets have a common composition structure: a curb and a central field.

Ornament

Also interesting are the patterns of Tabasaran carpets, of which three main types can be distinguished:

1. Background - a pattern without one particular large figure, while small figures fill the general background.
2. Centric - the ornament in them is reduced to the allocation of the main figure of the carpet, which is called "medallion".
3. Rim - the pattern is designed in such a way as to attract the attention of a person to the "border" of the product. This type of ornament is also called "kaimovym".

Considering the Tabasaran carpet, we can not fail to mention the color, which then the craftsmen resorted to. The background of almost all pile products was considered a cherry red or blue color, which should in principle be too straining a look. But color harmony is achieved through the use of medium and small parts of different colors.

Lint-free carpets

This group includes incredibly beautiful Lezgi and Azerbaijani sumacs. Their main feature is a large household use. Basically, they are used to cover the floor (pile carpets, for example, are used exclusively for walls). They are much more simple carpets. In addition, they are much softer, since they use a special weaving technique to produce woolen threads up to 15 cm under the carpet (this makes them so soft).

Lint-free Tabasaran carpets (see the photo in the article) are also "davagins". Their defining features are that they are 2-sided, and also have a dark blue or blue background on which the ornament ("hand") is located. These carpets can often be found in the Avars. The main picture consists of various "medallions" and appendages, from these "medallions" branching.

Also worth talking about this kind of lint-free Dagestan carpets, like palaces. They were made of cotton, wool and hemp. The palaces are such beautiful and complex ornaments as the drawings of the Tabasaran carpets do not have, but they are incredibly practical and often they are used in everyday life. Each people of the palace call it their own way: among the Azerbaijanis it is a "palaz", "barkhal" in Tabasarans, "ruin" among the Lezgins, "Turut" among the Avars, etc.

Felt carpets

It is worth noting that such carpets are very common among the Dagestan northern peoples - Nogais, Avars, Kumyks, Dargins. The most common felt carpets are arbabash. They are made from felt of different colors. They are superimposed on each other, and thus an ornament is created.