Antique Kazak | 237 x 106 cm | Nr. Z-331

Geometric antique Kazak runner, dark red with border

Origin	Caucasus
Dimensions	237 cm x 106 cm (= 2.51 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes) Weft & Warp: wool
knots per m²2	160.000
Pile height	4mm
Year of manufacture	1900
Colour	Dark red, beige
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

Kazak rugs (also spelled Kasak) belong to the group of Caucasian rugs. Rugs have been made in the Caucasus since the end of the 18th century. Their hallmark is the abstract geometric tribal patterning in primary colours. The geometric motifs — and, more rarely, floral ones — are typically 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 120 years old, and that alone makes it a truly special piece. Antique rugs like this Kazak are as sought after as ever and fetch top prices at renowned auction houses.

Pattern

The edge of the rug is framed by a decorative border. The border forms a beautiful contrast with the centre.

The abstract, geometric composition is what gives this Kazak its understated elegance. The pattern flatters the design of a room and never draws attention away from the furniture, the decoration or the architectural features. It settles beautifully into any setting and complements the furnishings of a room in a subtle way.

The background of this Kazak is beige. The overall impression is also dominated by dark red and beige. The border is worked in dark red, beige and cream white.

Condition

You are not the first to take a liking to this Kazak. It has had owners before you who valued and used it. It was hand-knotted around 1900. It has been thoroughly cleaned and is in good, though only partly restored, condition. The fringes could do with a repair here and there. The pile has grown a little thinner in places over the years. We have not fully restored this Kazak, because we feel it has a special presence just as it is. If you would like us to, we are of course happy to carry on restoring the rug for you. We can bring almost any rug back to near-perfect condition.

Material

The technique used to prepare the materials for the pile of this 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 weld per kilo of wool. Spinning the wool is just as time-consuming and labour-intensive. What is more, fewer and fewer people still master spinning wool by hand.

But the effort is worth it: dyeing with natural colours lets the high-quality wool keep its natural lanolin content. Wool that has been naturally dyed and hand-spun 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-house style. The foundation (weft and warp threads) of this Kazak is made of new wool.