Demirchilar (carpet)

Summary

Demirchilar (Azerbaijani: Dəmirçilər) - Azerbaijani carpets belonging to the Gazakh group of the Ganja-Gazakh type.[1][2] The name of this carpet is associated with the name of the village of Demirchilar near Gazakh in Azerbaijan. This carpet is also produced in the villages of Dash Salakhli, Kosalar, and Urkmazli from the Gazakh district. Demirchilar carpets are considered to be of the highest category carpets in the Gazakh group.[3][4]

"Demirchilar" Carpet (19th century). Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, Baku
The Namazlik carpet "Demirchilar" (19th century). National Art Museum of Azerbaijan, Baku

Artistic features edit

The carpets known as "Demirchilar" have different structures. There are three main versions for this type of rug.[3]

First version edit

The composition of the middle field of the carpets of the first version consists of polygonal gels. The composition is based on these gels which are built one after the other. The number of gels in the middle field is determined by the length of the carpet. In small carpets 2-3 gels are placed, in the elongated gyabas - there are more. The middle border known as "Surmadan" is characteristic for the "Demirchilar" carpets as a border strip.[3]

Second version edit

The second version is made up of the carpets called by the carpet weavers the "Demirchi Hasan". These carpets mainly consist of namazlik rugs with tag-arch or mehrab. If earlier these carpets had a religious purpose, in particular, they were made for performing the namaz, then over time they became only a decorative item.[3]

Third version edit

It is made up of the carpets called “Mehrabsiz”, which means “without mehrab”. They are characterized by keto-like gels, located one after the other, starting from the lower part of the middle field to its end. Recently, large size carpets have been produced with one gel placed in the centre of their middle field.[3]

Technical features edit

The Demirchilar carpets are often woven in small sizes. Sometimes there are large carpets, in rare cases - there are elongated. The density of knots: on each square decimetre is from 26 × 26 to 30 × 30 knots (on each square meter - from 60 000 to 90 000). The pile height is from 8 to 12 millimetres.[3]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Azərbaycan xalçası (PDF). Baku: Azerbaijan National Library. 2012. p. 22.
  2. ^ "Azərbaycanda xalça sənətinin inkişafı" (in Azerbaijani). azerbaijan.az. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Karimov, Latif (1983). Азербайджанский ковёр (PDF). Vol. III. Baku: Gənclik. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  4. ^ Azərbaycan xalçası (PDF). Baku: Elm. 2007. p. 27. ISBN 978-5-8066-1758-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-06-25.