Sunday, March 23, 2014

The Carpet Weavers of Armenia

Armenian Carpet (Vishapagorg)
Armenia has many traditions dating back to antiquity. However, none are as ingrained and wide spread as the tradition of Carpet Weaving. Armenian woman have traditionally been the carpet weavers, however, whole families have been known be self-employed carpet weavers. That said, in Karabakh, prominent carpet weavers have also been men, demonstrating that across the region the skills of carpet weaving have been passed from generation to generation, regardless of gender, for thousands of years. Subsequently, the skilled carpet weavers of Armenia, and the surrounding regions, have been highly sought after form thousands of years.
Artsakh
The oldest Armenian carpet in existence is from the early 13th Century and is referred to as Artsakh Carpet and was made in the village of Banants, with the earliest known reference to a carpet, or Gorg, in Armenian text was an inscription on the Kaptavan Church wall (circa 1242/43) which is in the province of Artsakh, Armenia.

Ornate Designs
The Artsakh region in Armenia has a special place in the history of carpet weaving in the country. Many common themes and patterns found on Armenian carpets are the depictions of Dragons and Eagles and these designs found their origins in the Artsakh region.  Many ornamental motifs, styles and colours are available to the carpet weaver and so each family can create their own unique designs.  The carpets mentioned in the Kaptavan Church inscriptions were made up of three arches and as art historian Hravard Hakoby notes “it was covered with vegetative ornaments and bears an artistic resemblance to the illuminated manuscripts produced in Artsakh.” The illuminated manuscripts were medieval documents and books which had very ornate, often in gold, decorative design work within the pages, as such, these carpets were highly decorative with ornate, hand crafted work added to individualized them, hence their collectors status.

Medieval Skills
Carpet weaving in Armenia has been heavily linked to that of curtain making, so much so that in 13th Century Armenian the wife of the regional prince Vakhtang Khachenatsi (along with their daughters) was praised by an Armenian art historian from the Artsakh region for their skill in combining carpet and curtain weaving with luxurious, ornate and decorative results.

Quality
Foreign travelers to Armenia often remarked on the quality of the carpets and a trip to the Artsakh region was often accompanied with a trip to the many carpet sellers throughout the region. In fact, the noted geographer and historian Al-Masudi commented that among other works of art he had never seen such high quality carpets anywhere else in his life.

To this day, carpet weavers in Armenia still produce high quality, durable and unique carpets that are the envy of the world and a carpet purchased in Armenia makes for a fine gift and a reminder of ones travels across the world.

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