Persian kilim Azari / Persian kilim Azari

For millennia, rugs have been faithful, time-tested companions to nomadic peoples—used to cover floors, in place of furniture, as decoration, as a horse saddle cover, for sleeping, as a travel tent, for meditation, as a shroud for the final farewell from this world… Special rugs are made for healing and wedding rituals. Rugs are rich in symbolism; they enable communication across time and space, with messages expressed through various compositional structures, colors, and the figures within them. The Azeri, who have lived in northern Iran and Azerbaijan for centuries and millennia, have been making rugs in an original, unchanged way. The weaving technique and traditional patterns are passed down from generation to generation, but the rug’s final look depends most on the maker’s personal touch. Mothers teach daughters how to spin and work with wool, while fathers pass on to sons the knowledge of dyeing wool and making looms. The motifs they depict are drawn from their surroundings, local tradition, and their lives. Thus, in these rugs you can find everything from stars to archaic Mesopotamian forms. The characteristic stylized figures (stepped diamond and stars) lend this Azeri kilim a special playfulness. Under skilled fingers, beautiful combinations have emerged using plant-based earthy dyes and archaic patterns.