Early White Ground Perepedil Prayer Rug

Early White Ground Perepedil Prayer Rug in Original Condition
Size : 105 x 133 cm

Caucasus, mid 19th century
Condition: very good according to age, scattered low pile, partially corroded dark brown, minor small repairs
Warp: wool, weft: cotton, pile: wool

This attractive prayer rug belongs to a small group of Perepedil rugs from the northeast Caucasus. Among them are early versions such as this example, as well as later carpets made in the Russian Kustar workshops from the late 19th century, which copied elements of the design seen here.
White-ground prayer rugs were made for personal use in the Caucasus, and the number of surviving rugs with this style of generous border and early field design is extremely small. In fact, this example is so similar in several design elements to a piece dated 1273 AH (1857 AD) in the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest (inv. 62-1229t) that they must have been made in the same workshop.
Another very similar example was published by Ralph Kaffel in ”Caucasian Prayer Rugs” (1997, pl. 47), dated 1281 AH (1864 AD). The only minor differences with the former are the stars that appear as the internal decoration of the boxes in the field, the motifs used within the blue octagonal medallions, and the absence of animal or bird forms attached to these blue medallions. These are replaced with hooked forms – a highly unusual substitution.

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