Antique Kazak | 240 x 155 cm | Nr. 15029

Antique Kazak

Delivery time	2 days
Origin	Caucasus
Dimensions	240 cm x 155 cm (= 3.72 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes) Weft & Warp: wool
knots	300.000
Year of manufacture	1895
Condition	pre-owned, but in very good condition (cleaned & restored)
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

Kazak (also spelled Kasak) rugs belong to the group of Caucasian rugs. Rugs have been made in the Caucasus since the end of the 18th century. Characteristic are the abstract, geometric tribal patterns in primary colours. Typically the geometric – and more rarely floral – motifs are rendered in intense, high-contrast colours. In the 19th century, a considerable share of these rugs, produced mainly in villages, was exported to the West under Russian control.

This Antique Kazak is a collector's piece. It is around 131 years old, and that alone makes it a truly special piece. Antique rugs such as this Antique Kazak are still greatly sought after and fetch top prices at renowned auction houses.

Material

The technique used to make the materials for the pile of this Antique Kazak is more than 200 years old. The wool was dyed with natural dyes and spun by hand. Dyeing with natural or plant dyes is more complicated, more expensive and more time-consuming than dyeing with chemical colours. For a luminous red, for example, you need around one kilo of ground madder root as dyestuff per kilo of wool. For a strong yellow that is not too pale, you even need two kilograms of the dyestuff dyer's weld per kilo of wool. Spinning the wool is time- and labour-intensive too. What is more, fewer and fewer people still master spinning wool by hand.

But the effort is worth it: dyeing with natural colours allows the high-quality wool to keep its natural oil content. Wool that has been dyed with natural colours and spun by hand creates fascinating, shimmering patterns. The charm of hand-spun wool, with its slight irregularities and natural shades, comes into its own as a contrast in modern interiors, but equally in rooms furnished in a more traditional or country style.

The foundation (weft and warp threads) of this Antique Kazak is made of new wool.

Condition

You are not the first to take a liking to this Antique Kazak. It has had owners before you who valued and used it. Given its proud age, the pile has understandably become thin overall. Otherwise this antique piece is outstandingly well preserved. It was knotted around 1895. We have cleaned it thoroughly and restored it with great care. Despite its age, it is therefore in very good condition.