CAUCASIAN RUGS
SIDE from the facts that the Caucasus is rugged, that during the Middle Ages it was ruled by the illustrious Tamara, and that till recently the physical charms of its women made them favourites in the slave markets of Constantinople, the character and history of that country are to-day almost as unknown to the average reader as they were when the bards of ancient Greece bound Prometheus to its rocks and hung the Golden Fleece from its oaken boughs. Yet it is a country of wonderful interest. Above its gorges, rivalling those of the Himalayas, rise mountains higher than the Alps. On the southwestern slope are combined the luxuriant vegetation of tropical lowlands with virgin forests of fir and pine, and in meadows and beside shaded brooks grow flowers of strange beauty. Beneath the ground is undeveloped wealth of ores and mineral oil. The river Phasis is the natural home of the pheasant; the crags are the resorts of ibex; and in secluded glens sharing solitude with bear, wolf, and boar are hidden the wild aurochs.
Moreover, the philologist, ethnologist, and historian can here follow his favourite pursuit with as much zest as the Alpine climber, botanist, mineralogist, and sportsman; for within the confines of this region are spoken some seventy languages by as many distinct clans, each of remote origin. Some are the descendants of the early dwellers; some are the Aryan stock that found its way to Europe before the beginning of history; still others are but the offspring of the flotsam and jetsam which recurring waves of Asiatic conquerors, surging westward in ancient times, left stranded here. Nevertheless, for so many generations have the present inhabitants remained among their mountain strongholds, unabsorbed and unassimilating, that they have been regarded as a type sufficiently pure and characteristic to give its name to the great Caucasian race.
Though enjoying greater isolation than surrounding countries, the Caucasus at different times and in different ways has felt their influences. During the Augustan age of Tamara’s rule she attracted by her brilliancy, taste, and industry foreign courtiers and artisans. Hardly was she dead before Genghis Khan’s horde of conquering Mongols poured over the land; and rival suitors, enraptured by her daughter’s beauty, pressed their claims by invading it with their Mohammedan armies. For long succeeding years Persia struggled with Turkey for the mastery of the country, and was about to take it when Russia grasped the prize, but only after Shamyl with a few brave thousands had defeated vast armies.
Each of these foreign guests or foes left some impression on the native art; so that Caucasian rugs show traces of Turkoman, Turkish, and Persian influences. It is rarely, excepting in a few small geometric figures, that there is any evidence of the Turkoman influence; but it is not unusual to see border stripes and field designs adopted from the Turkish rugs. Some of these stripes represent both geometric and floral patterns, either copied directly or derived with slight modifications from rugs woven three or four centuries ago in Asia Minor or Armenia. The Persian influence is apparent only in the floral forms. It doubtless inspired the stripe of dainty carnations so common in a large number of Caucasian pieces, the pear design inseparable from Baku rugs, as well as many other figures that first appeared in the rugs of Persia.
Nevertheless, these rugs have their own distinct characteristics, which have a boldness and virility that are to be attributed in a measure to grand and rugged scenery as well as to centuries of struggle for independence, since in art the influence of environment is most apparent. They lack something of the sobriety, artistic drawing, and delicate colouring of those woven in vast deserts, amid the monuments of fallen empires, and in the gardens of the East; they contain on the other hand, both in line and colour, the forceful expression of untrammelled thought. The patterns are largely geometric; the tones of colour, in which clear red, blue, green, and yellow predominate, are strong. On the whole, they possess an individuality of character that is not surpassed by the rugs of any other group.
MAP OF CAUCASIA