Dagestan is the center of hand-made carpet weaving on Russian territory. Distinctive features of Dagestan carpets are a wealth of patterns combined with clear compositions and color schemes. All patterns are flawlessly and clearly woven, the main ornaments are large in size. In woven products, a combination of warm and cold colors is characteristic.
Dagestan carpet making
Dagestan pile carpets, popular all over the world, are made in the south of the republic. Conventionally, models are divided into four types, which differ in ornaments, density and pile length:
- Lezgi - “Ahty”, “Mikrah”, “Kasumkent”;
- Derbent - “Derbent”;
- rutulskie - “rutul”;
- Tabasaran - “Rushul”, “Khiv”, “Tabasaran”.
For rugs of the Khiv type, the distinctive features are a long pile (up to 6 mm) and the number of knots (tied to 10 cm 2 ) up to 1764 pieces. In other carpet products, the number of knots is less and amounts to 1600.
Features of Tabasaran Carpets
Previously, Tabasaran handmade rugs were considered the most significant household items. Their prices were so high that after the sale of one, the family could live comfortably for more than six months. Such a carpet product was equal in value to a couple of horses or several heads of smaller cattle.
Tabasaran carpets differ from others in their durability, the secret of which is explained by the special technique of making high-quality yarn. To do this, use the wool of high-mountain sheep and dye it in different colors with the help of natural dyes: walnut bark, wormwood, barberry.
In the past, every home had a weaving machine. If it was not used, then it was carefully disassembled and stored until it was needed. The young girl from Tabasaran in the dowry always had two large carpets and one small carpet product. In this case, one should be woven by her hands, in extreme cases, the bride should take part in its creation.
In ancient times, to check the quality of the carpet made, horses were allowed to run on it, left for several days in the rain and the sun, and sometimes soaked. The carpet should have remained in its original form: only then will the craftswoman prove the quality of her work. The best Tabasaran carpets have served their owners for more than three hundred years.
Production of Tabasaran carpets
It is generally accepted that Dagestan and Tabasaran carpets are one and the same. But only in the south of Dagestan the craft of creating carpets was preserved. Such hard work was exclusively done by women. The carpet was woven by a craftswoman along with friends, neighbors, and relatives. It happens that up to six women work on one machine. They talk, sing songs, tell funny stories, communicate. Sometimes one carpet product was created for more than five months. The carpet is knotted. It takes up to two seconds for a single knot at a professional needlewoman, and about eight thousand of them are knitted per day. It is noteworthy that in a small carpet you can count more than three million such nodules.
On the loom, which is located in the middle of the house, pull white threads. They serve as a kind of canvas, with the help of which a pattern will be woven. On this basis, multi-colored threads begin to tie knots, which gradually acquire a finished shape.
Pile carpets were hung on the walls to decorate the home.
A lint-free “Sumy” carpet, which covers the floor, stands out among others with a special weaving technique. On the reverse side, long woolen (up to 15 cm) threads remain on it. Thanks to them, the carpet is very soft and warm.
When the carpet is woven, it is cleaned of accumulated dust and debris, taken out into the yard. Women who worked on this piece dance national dances. Such a rite indicates the end of this hard work. Dancers transmit their positive energy to the carpet. Lonely women and those who did not participate in its creation are not allowed to traditional dances.
Drawing is the main thing in the carpet
For Tabasaran carpets, a gradual engagement of small patterns with larger fragments is characteristic. On the area of the carpet are small sockets. Each of them is placed in medallions. Then they are placed inside the polygons. Any small pattern and all large ornaments are highlighted with a border and color fill. With the help of geometric connections, needlewomen weave multi-colored curls and patterns. In these embossments, the ornament of the branch with flowers is placed on the stroke.
In the middle of the pile carpets, large patterns that are associated with tree leaves are staggered. In the middle of the largest ornaments enter smaller, corresponding in configuration, drawings. They are made in lighter or darker color shades. Between large details, geometric flowers and bird outlines interweave. The entire pattern of the carpet is combined into a single whole using a stepwise stroke.
Safar
Safar is a star, a very interesting pattern of Tabasaran carpets. The name implies the location of the star in the center of the carpet. This is the favorite finish of professional craftswomen. It happens that a small medallion is added to the middle, although ornaments are also found without it. The shape of safar resembles a flower with regular petals. Carpets that are decorated with a star attract attention with a wide variety of shades used. All the details of the star are placed on the field in a strictly calibrated order. The central part of the carpet is most often made in blue and red.
Merher
Another popular among the craftswomen for the manufacture of Tabasaran carpets is the Merher drawing, similar in outline to a sled. In the middle of the product, medallions in the form of squares and hexagons are placed in turn. They are connected along the entire length of the carpet by lines. These combined geometric shapes resemble the silhouette of a sled. Often, from the fringed edges to the medallions, designs that look like a puppet silhouette are knitted. Unallocated space is filled with small elements. The border is distinguished by a large number of patterned fragments, the carpet looks rich and elegant. All figures, drawings and patterns are strictly geometric. Coloring - a harmonious combination of blue and red yarn with the addition of white, bright blue shade of wool.
Turar, topancha, drafts and pistols
The most sought-after pattern of Tabasaran carpet products is tour (checkers). Patterned figures in this type of pattern are placed diagonally. The name comes from an association with crossed checkers or pistols. These ornaments are combined by small medallions. As a result of the diagonal combination, a grid is created that is placed relative to the edges at an angle of 45 degrees. Traditionally in the center there are up to three rows of very small medallions, which are combined by topanch patterns. Three to seven rows of larger fragments are placed along the width and length of the carpet.
This type of pattern is performed in light shades of beige, blue, and brown. In the patterns of checkers saturated blue, green, red colors bordered with black are used. Unoccupied places of the needlewoman’s background are regularly filled with small sockets or other patterns. The final point in the design of the drawing is considered a wavy border, the color of which is white with blue patterns.
Carpet Museum in Derbent
In 1982, the Museum of carpet weaving opened in the city. It was placed in the premises of the Armenian church, which was built in 1870. Given the thousand-year history of creating carpets, the location of the exhibition in the city center attracts many tourists. Many of them come specially to see the real Tabasaran carpet. The price of the product starts at 10,000 rubles per square meter of carpet. And this is considering that artificial dyes are used. An original Tabasaran carpet using natural colors is many times more expensive. Today, handmade Tabasaran carpets can be seen in the best museums of Paris, London, Tokyo. The houses and palaces of the first persons of various powers are decorated with woven products. At international exhibitions, carpets constantly win gold medals.
Live, appreciate life and enjoy it - such wishes of the craftswomen convey patterns and carpet painting. You can peer into the drawing for hours: someone will see trees and birds on it, someone will see the face of a stranger looking into the distance. The next viewer will examine the mountains rising up, and the plain at the foot, along which a man walks with a plow and plows the land. It seems that you saw all the smallest details on the Tabasaran carpets, when suddenly a picture appears before your eyes that you did not notice before ... And again the picture changes ...