dragon carpet

This very large carpet belongs to a group of weavings that are known as dragon carpets. The most striking aspect of these carpets is the bold geometric design of their central field. Their design features stylized, but recognizable, mythical animals, most prominently dragons, qilins, and phoenixes in two overlapping offset diamond lattices. They are believed to have been woven in the region that encompasses the southern Caucasus corresponding to the area covering modern Republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia. The region, when this group of carpets presumably was produced in the seventeenth century, was under the Safavid Persian cultural influence until the mid-eighteenth century.  The dragon carpets represent a weaving history that is still full of questions that lack precise answers.

Giovanni Curatola (Author), Tappeti, Arnoldo Mondadori, Milan, Italy, 1981, cat. no. 40

Carol Bier (Author), "Approaches to Understanding Oriental Carpets", Arts of Asia, Arts of Asia, Hong Kong, 1996, vol. 26, no. 1, p. 75, fig. 43

Erwin Gans-Ruedin (Author), Caucasian Carpets, Rizzoli, New York, NY, 1986, p. 32, detail

Charles Grant Ellis (Author), "Caucasian Carpets in The Textile Museum", Forschungen zur Kunst Asiens, Forschungen zur Kunst Asiens, Istanbul Universitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi, Türk ve Islam Sanati Kürsüsü, Istambul, Turkey , 1969, p. 198, fig. 1

Dragon Rugs, The Textile Museum, Washington, D.C., 1948, cat. no. 4

Charles Grant Ellis (Author), "Oriental Carpets in the Philadelphia Museum of Art", Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, 1988., p. 140

Charles Grant Ellis (Author), Early Caucasian Rugs, The Textile Museum, Washington, D.C., 1975, p. 33, pl. 1

Sumru Belger Krody (Co-Author) and Shelley Burian (Co-Author) and Lee Talbot (Co-Author) and Karthika Audinet (Contributor) and Carol M. Bier (Contributor) and Walter B. Denny (Contributor) and Barbara G. Fraser (Contributor) and David W. Fraser (Contributor) and Mariachiara Gasparini (Contributor) and Mattiebelle Gittinger (Contributor) and Louise W. Mackie (Contributor) and Ann Pollard Rowe (Contributor) and Rebecca A. T. Stevens (Contributor), Textile Treasures: Highlights from The Textile Museum Collection and the Cotsen Traces Study Collection, Hali Publications Ltd., 2025, 1 ed., 272- 275

Intrinsic Beauty: Celebrating the Art of Textiles, The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, Washington DC, February 22, 2025 - June 14, 2025

Dragons, Blossoms, Sunbursts: Textile Arts of the Caucasus, The Textile Museum, Washington DC, October 15, 1989 - February 25, 1990

Dragon Rugs, The Textile Museum, Washington DC, October 18, 1948 - November 19, 1948

Treasures from the Museum's Collection, The Textile Museum, Washington DC, May 25, 1971 - January 08, 1972

Early Caucasian Rugs, The Textile Museum, Washington DC, November 11, 1975 - March 06, 1976

Caucasian Rugs, The Textile Museum, Washington DC, March 01, 1963 - May 30, 1963

Old Yarns with a new Twist: Familiar Favorites from the Textile Museum's Collection, The Textile Museum, Washington DC, June 08, 1984 - September 23, 1984

Caucasian Dragon Rugs and Related Embroideries, George Washington University Library, Washington DC, January 06, 1951 - January 31, 1951