Museum's gems
“Archiman” Carpet
“Archiman” Carpet

In the Ethnographic Fund of the National History Museum of Azerbaijan, there are 720 carpets and carpet products belonging to all of the cited schools. Woven in Khizi in XIX century, “Archiman” carpet is the Shirvan school’s masterpiece distinguished for its’ subject and ornaments. Being unique and not repeated in the other carpets, the subject of this carpet is entirely dedicated to the family traditions and mythology of the people of Azerbaijan. According to experts, broken lines of the theme depicts Humayun, an ancient Turk goddess of goodness, who gave divine power to people. First of all, it can be seen in the touch of an infant-like image placed at the bottom of eternity sign between both pictures. Another point is that the Humayun’s image is surrounded with halo, as in the butas woven on the carpet’s edges, which is quite rare for the traditional carpets. The center of the carpet is fringed by an «oath stamp», which symbolizes unity, family ties and brotherhood in the ancient Turkic symbolism. Weaving of a stamp on the carpet’s surface isn’t accidental. Apparently, it related to a particular solemn promise. Among decorations of the carpet, there are also tree-shaped pictures encircled in Assyrian cylinder seals. The XIX century carpet has dimensions of 154x157 cm, and compactness of 29x36 cm. Weaving method: turkbaf (symmetrical).  

Information about the exhibit
Title:
“Archiman” Carpet
Date:
XX əsrin əvvəli
Place:
Şirvan
Dimensions:
Xalçanın ölçüləri 154 x 157 sm, sıxlığı 29 x 36 sm-dir.
Inventory number:
EF 5169