Oct 15 2006
Kuba Weavings
The area between Shirvan and Daghestan in the eastern Caucasus is Kuba. This area, with its surrounding villages, is the most prolific and justly celebrated source of Caucasus weaving. These days, tourists come to Kuba to see hundreds of apple orchards, which in the spring, fills the air with the scent of apple blossoms. The variety and richness of design and color is so varied and extraordinary that no generalized statement can be made about Kuba weaving.
The area between Shirvan and Daghestan in the eastern Caucasus is Kuba. This area, with its surrounding villages, is the most prolific and justly celebrated source of Caucasus weaving. These days, tourists come to Kuba to see hundreds of apple orchards, which in the spring, fills the air with the scent of apple blossoms. The variety and richness of design and color is so varied and extraordinary that no generalized statement can be made about Kuba weaving.
Kuba was a Khanate of Persia (a Khanate is equivalent to a state or region in the old Persian system). Historians date the transfer of Kuba to the Czarist Russians to 1806. How old then is the city of Kuba? Several different sources state that Kuba did not exist until circa 1750. The United States Embassy, on the other hand, confirms the existence of a majestic 16th-century fortress that dominates the city of Kuba. Nevertheless, this area has been settled for centuries; in nearby Khanalyg, there is a 9th century A.D. Zoroastrian temple.
Many of the dragon rugs and floral designs possibly originated from the Kuba region, which probably have the longest weaving history in the Caucacus. Both of these designs have been attributed by some scholars to a Persian inspiration, while others have suggested a closer link with early Seljuk weaving. The majority of Kuba rugs of the 19th century display crowded floral motifs, either free standing, combined with large geometric motifs, or retained within an allover lattice.
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