Schirwan | 145 x 98 cm | Nr. 20758

Shirvan

Delivery time	2 days
Origin	Caucasus
Dimensions	145 cm x 98 cm (= 1.42 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes)
knots	200.000
Condition	pre-owned, cleaned & partially restored
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

Shirvan (also Schirwan) rugs are knotted by hand in the eastern Caucasus, in the Shirvan region. Shirvan rugs are knotted from exceptionally fine wool and have a low pile. Old Shirvans are greatly valued and highly rated among collectors in Europe. They not infrequently reach a knot count of up to 300,000 knots per m².

The wide border is characteristic of Shirvan rugs. A broad main stripe is framed by 2 – 6 secondary stripes. The field is often shaped by imaginative geometric patterns. In terms of colour, these rugs are frequently marked by blue knotting, but also by red and ivory. The many-coloured patterns result in a fine and versatile palette.

Material

The technique used to make the materials for this Schirwan's pile is over 200 years old. The wool was dyed with natural colours and spun by hand. Dyeing with natural or plant colours is more complicated, more expensive and more time-consuming than dyeing with chemical dyes. 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 isn't too pale, you even need two kilograms of weld per kilo of wool. Spinning the wool is just as time-consuming and labour-intensive. And fewer and fewer people still know how to spin 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 Schirwan is made of new wool.

Condition

You are not the first to take a liking to this Schirwan. It had owners before you who valued it and put it to use. It was knotted around 116. It has been cleaned thoroughly and is in good but only partially restored condition. The pile is worn over large areas, though it has already been re-knotted in places. We have not fully restored this Schirwan, because we feel it has a charm all of its own just as it is. If you would like us to, we will of course carry the restoration further for you. We can bring almost any rug back to near-perfect condition.