Azerbaijan’s carpet-weaving heritage is a blend of art and anthropology
The history of any country can be told through its arts and crafts. Visual arts connect the present to the past, and ancient traditions help to guide the culture of today.
In Azerbaijan, one of the greatest of these traditions is carpet-weaving; Azerbaijani carpets are celebrated all over the world. The country has long been a destination for the most skilled weavers, and within it Shusha, its cultural heart. But how did this city earn its creative credentials, and why does it continue to share them now?
The perfect conditions for artistry
Carpet-weaving in Azerbaijan has evolved over the centuries, and the carpet has characterized each era. Shirin Malikova, Director of the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum has a unique perspective on the origins of these items which straddle art, utility, and even culture. “Azerbaijan is a multicultural and multi-confessional country. Its ethnic diversity resembles a huge multi-colored carpet,” she says. “People’s lifestyles here represent a harmonious combination of different civilizations’ traditions and customs that are reflected in carpets.”
Archaeological excavations revealed that carpets have historically played a significant decorative role in Azerbaijan, with local artisans inheriting the skills of their ancestors, the other Turkic peoples of the region. By the 16th century, when the Silk Road wove its way through the South Caucasus, Azerbaijani carpets were woven with gold and silver thread, depicting scenes that made them like paintings and transformed them into works of art.
The humble carpet had achieved an almost priceless status, the value nearly matching gold. Azerbaijani carpets became markers of affluence among the wealthy of Europe and the wider world. “They became status gifts and luxury items available only to society’s elite circles, secular and ecclesiastical,” says Malikova.
But beyond the cultural credentials that led to such beautiful works, the natural environment of the country became the perfect place to nurture this craft. “Azerbaijan’s conditions are perfect for carpet-weaving: nine breeds of Caucasian sheep thrive there, the lowland and mountain pastures make for thick, healthy coats, and a rich abundance of flora provide natural dyes for the fibers,” says Malikova.
Generations of ideas, natural resources, and social record-keeping had culminated in a world-famous product, which, in part, supported the growth of ancient Azerbaijan’s cultural and economic heart: the city of Shusha.
Shusha: a cultural capital
Shusha is the cradle of Azerbaijani music and poetry. It was also an economically significant city and the capital of the Karabakh khanate, one of the many states that preceded modern-day Azerbaijan. It was a center for artisans of all types, and Shushan artisans specialized in producing luxury household items, including carpets.
The course of history has left its mark on Shusha. And, even in Soviet times, some crafts continued to flourish. “These types of crafts and production, traditional to Shusha and Karabakh, exist to this day. This means that they must be revived,” Malikova says.
Carpet weaving in Azerbaijan has a tradition that has been transmitted from generation to generation. Carpets reflect the attitudes, desires, and beliefs of our ancestors, and represent national and spiritual values.
Shirin Malikova, Director of the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum
For Faig Ahmed, an internationally recognized artist whose work is based on traditional Azerbaijani carpets, this idea of heritage is very much a part of his life. “Shusha is a sacred city in Azerbaijan, and it has immense cultural significance, as it is a city of writers, musicians, and artists,” says Ahmed.
While he lives and works in Baku, he considers Shusha the heart of Azerbaijani carpets. As an artist, and a resident of Azerbaijan, he’s overjoyed that after decades of turmoil he’ll be able to visit this extraordinary city and immerse himself in the living history of his culture and passion.
Experience Azerbaijan’s carpets
The Azerbaijan Carpet Museum is in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, and displays over 10,000 items, including carpets from ancient times up until the present day. As well as having one of the foremost collections of any museum in the country, the Carpet Museum is also an incredible piece of architecture. Designed to look like a rolled-up carpet, it is as striking as the artifacts it contains.
