Antique Kazak | 288 x 169 cm | Nr. Z-3330

Geometric antique Kazak, rust red with border

Origin	Caucasus
Dimensions	288 cm x 169 cm (= 4.8672 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes) Weft & Warp: wool
knots per m²2	150.000
Pile height	5mm
Year of manufacture	1920
Colour	Rust red, blue-grey
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 100 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 decorated surround (border) forms a beautiful contrast to the centre and shapes the transition at the edge of the rug.

The abstract, geometric composition is what gives this Kazak its understated elegance. The pattern flatters the design of the room and never draws attention away from the furniture, the décor or the architectural elements. It creates a pleasant atmosphere without dominating the style of the room.

The surface of this Kazak has a mottled look. The shifts in tone and the light-and-dark shading of the pile yarn make the colours shimmer and keep the rug forgiving of dirt. These colour shifts, known as abrash, give the rug a livelier character. The mottling comes about because the wool of this Kazak was hand-spun. During dyeing, the natural pigments are taken up to differing degrees.

The background of this Kazak is rust red. The border is worked in blue-grey, beige and light red.

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 1920. It has been thoroughly cleaned and is in good but unrestored condition. The pile is worn in places. The fringes could do with a repair. Some areas of the rug are discoloured. The edges are machine-wrapped. We have not restored this Kazak, because we feel it has a special charm just as it is. If that is what you would like, we will of course be happy to restore the rug for you. Either way, this Kazak will bring you pleasure for decades to come.

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.