Guide to KARACHOP RUGS

1. Guide toKARACHOP RUGS click to advance

2. Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries. Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of Borchaly)as well. Map 1

3. KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak. In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy, Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897 they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar', 1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30% in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

4. Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

5. Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

6. HISTORICAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE REGION Karapapakh Turks are considered the descendants of Scythians (Ancient people of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who appeared in Transcaucasia in the 7th century BC), Bunturks (early Turkic people appeared in Transcaucasia 4th century BC), Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic pastoral people who, appearing from beyond the Volga, migrated into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars (Turkic people that migrated to Europe from Central Asia in the 4th century), Barsils (a semi nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars (semi-nomadic Turkic people who dominated the Pontic steppe and the North Caucasus from the 7th to the 10th century) and Oghuz Turks (from the 10th century). According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

7. Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

8. The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander) who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

9. Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who, according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and, according to others, in the third century C.E. mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col (Kol) Region. Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the author of the “History of Armenia” states: “During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars, departing from their lands, came to our country and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col. [Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“, Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s writings. Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands) under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund (possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was named after him as Vanand. This event happened during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak (Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today there are village names derived from the names of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book I,Chapter 6]. Bulgar Female Warrior

10. Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

11. Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof, Karatchof, Karatchopt,Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population. The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö sound like "u" in "fur". The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages. In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz dialects. There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop. Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

12. Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and there is substantial variety of borders. Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc. The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A 'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present. In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the border is less complex. Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with synthetic dyes.

13. Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the “2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks. Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in Istanbul illustrating this relationship: Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field of this small format rug that is punctuated with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense, compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2 feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long known for handling great carpets from the Classical period.

14. Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

15. Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

16. Second half 19th century Karachop rugs These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group. But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

17. Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:Yarn: always Z spinKnots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000 (oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from 750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per square decimeter (35Hx35V)Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots. Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the rows of knots.Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool single. Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is plied and sewn

18. The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs A

19. B

21. Prepared by V. Dadashov Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”