Dragon Rug

The source of the rug comes from the book Caucasian Carpets, E. Gans-Reudin, Thames and Hudson, Switzerland 1986, pg.37. This luxurious and varied work is known as the Cassirer dragon rug' from the name of its previous owner. It is examined in great detail in May U. Beattie's The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection of Oriental Rugs. The carpet is divided into compartments by a fanciful lattice enclosing elongated or squat lozenges that are linked by palmettes, rosettes, and floral arrangements. The dragons can be distinguished to the right and left of the central row of lozenges, bedecked in blue, ivory, and red. Some appear also on the blue-black bands that define the lozenges. Flowers too are much in evidence; on stems of exquisite delicacy, they surround the dragons or are inscribed within their own scrolls. The deeply notched border is highly original; it is a type rarely repeated by the weavers of succeeding centuries. From a light blue hexagonal flower, set on the ivory path of the main border, two stems escape bearing other flowers in red, black, and yellow. Two yellow guard bands flank the border; each contains a zigzag pattern undulating between red flower buds. The design of this rug is interpreted and the most appropriate colors to match the original are used for this rug.