작품 상세

Early Kuba Fragment 147 x 113 cm (4’ 10” x 3’ 8”) Caucasus, late 18th century Condition: Fragment, some holes and missing areas, moth damage, sewn onto fabric Warp: wool, weft: wool, pile: wool This fragment is from the lower right-hand corner of a grand Caucasian carpet from the late 18th century. It offers an ideal snapshot of the Harshang design, a design from the classical carpet canon that was arguably best expressed in 18th and early 19th-century Caucasian carpets. The carpets from the Kuba region are well known for their strong color contrasts and also have the perfect vertical-to-horizontal knot ratio to allow weavers to add space to all aspects of the repeat design unit, as well as create large blocks of color and emphasize the flaming edges of the palmettes. The scale of the design elements on this fragment, which is just over half of the width of the carpet, suggests that this would have been a large, boldly graphic carpet in its complete form. Grand red examples from this period are unusual, and of particular note is the way that each design element is fully formed and clearly drawn, and that the balance between the energetic field and the gentle rhythm of the relatively small borders is well executed.