Semi-Antique Armenian Vayots Dzor Rug

Origin: Vayots Dzor Province, Armenia, possibly the town of Malishka or nearby area. A rug of this design can be seen in Manya Ghazarian's Armenian Carpet, from the collection of the National Museum of Armenian Ethnography at the Sardarapat Memorial in the village of Araks.

Age: Mid to late 1930s, about 80-90 years old.

Design: Central medallion design with a floral border surrounded by borders of boteh/almonds. The main medallion and inside motifs appear to be inspired by architectural elements of nearby Noravank Monastery, particularly the stair-step style archways at either end. The field is significantly ornamented with scattered symbols of flowers, stars/planets, eyes, dowry symbols, quincunx (like the side of a die with 5 dots, has several meanings including the five wounds of Christ, or a cosmic harmony), crosses, eight pointed stars, and eternity symbols. The three central medallions feature prominent crosses, and are the shape of the floor plan of an Armenian church.

Colors: Many shades of reds, blues, orange, green, teal, pink, brown, black and ivory. Appears to be mostly modern synthetic dyes though some dyes may be natural sources.

Foundation: Natural wool warp of several colors twisted together, two shoots of mostly red wool weft but also has some areas of blue and black weft.

Pile: All wool, of medium depth.

Knotting: Symmetrical

Size: 5 feet 9 inches by 8 feet 1 inch.

Condition: Good condition with thick full pile and the original sides and ends are fully intact, including the braided band on the top. Most of the red on the rug has experienced some sun fading, with a different dye lot on the top of the rug that did not fade and may be natural madder root dye. There are some scattered areas of wear and lower pile. I repaired and rewove numerous holes and areas that were missing pile from moth bites.