Antique Caucasian Konaghend Soumak Rug, 19th Century

A fascinating antique Caucasian Soumak rug from the 19th century, hand-woven with the special technique of  'Soumak', which is a tapestry technique of weaving strong and decorative textiles including rugs and bags. A Soumak rug, such as this beautiful rare piece, is a type of flat-weave, somewhat resembling but stronger and thicker than a Kilim, with a smooth front face and a ragged back, woven with supplementary weft threads as continuous supports. Its technique involves wrapping colored weft threads over and under the warp threads, adding strength and creating an embroidery-like pattern. 

This particular rug was made in the Kuba region of Caucasia. It features three large, lozenge-shaped, linked medallions in deep indigo and dark coral that are the focal elements of the entire design. The scale of structural elements get proportionally smaller as the design expands out into the ruby red field in which a total of eight octagonal medallions in yellow flank both sides of the inner border, nestled in the large triangular spaces created by the upward and downward angles of the large medallions at the centre. Each of these octagonal medallions are accompanied on each side by two totem-like tribal motifs, creating a well-defined and strong sense of balance and proportional harmony. 

The remaining space in the field is filled with minute tribal motifs such as geometric stars and wheels of fortune. The first inner border parallels these minute motifs and creates a smooth transitionary space into the outer border and its guard strips, that are decidedly different in their color scheme and their bold, geometric wave and mountain pattern.

A beautiful rug exuding a bold tribal feel in deep, saturated tones with great appeal for a variety of interiors from modern and sleek to boho-chic.