Antique Kazak 'Genje' stripe runner, Caucasus

A stunning colourful antique Kazak runner with Genje stripes.  The Genje rugs and runners are known for their striking diagonal stripe design.  The natural wool ivory border allows the beautiful colours to really stand out and balances the runner extremely well.  This antique caucasian runner is an earlier example woven around 1880 -1890 and has been looked after very well as the wool pile is generally very good all over.  A few old repairs but no major restoration and it has been thoroughly washed by ourselves which has freshened up the beautiful early dyes.

Genje or Gendje was the name of the Khanate of the same name, but was converted eventually to Elisavetpol and then to Kirovabad. Armenians were the rug makers, and these rugs are often referred to as "Genje-Kazak". Some were typically narrow and long and used for hall runners and for stairs. Border ornaments can be running dogs, crosses, leaves, meanders, etc. The field designs were characteristically diagonal stripes of varying colors filled with almost any kind of figure - except rarely the boteh motif.

The finest 19th century Kazak rugs are long prized by connoisseurs of Caucasian rugs. Kazak is in the Republic of Armenia, directly to the north west of Lake Sewan. “In weaving terms, Kazak is probably the most famous area in the Caucasus, for the best of the rugs produced there…combined stunning geometric designs with fabulous colours derived from high-quality dyes.  The earliest traditional dyes were made from various vegetable sources in Caucasian rugs in the 19th Century. Around the mid 19th century, the first chemical dye, fuchsine, was discovered by mistake during a chemist’s lab experiment and is a stronger purple.

Request a home visit to try this vibrant antique runner in-situ at a convenient day and time to suit you. If you would like to view hundreds of antique rugs, please do come and visit our barn showroom in Crondall, Surrey we would love to welcome you here.

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This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance

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