Slide 1

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 2

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 3

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 4

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 5

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 6

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 7

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 8

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 9

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 10

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 11

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 12

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 13

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 14

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 15

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 16

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 17

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 18

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 19

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 20

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”


Slide 21

Guide to
KARACHOP RUGS

click to advance

Karachöp is the name of a district with seven villages in Kakheti province, Georgia. The name of these villages are
Yor-Mughanli, Tüller, Lambali, Qazilar, Kesheli, Düzeyremi, Qarabaghli and Baldo. These villages are inhabited by
Karapapakh Turks who are responsible for the weaving of the historical Karachop rugs. The names of these villages
are taken from the name of the medieval tribes that dwelt in this area for centuries.
Karachop District is not the only area where the “Karachop” rugs were produced. According to the old local rug
merchants, many Karachop rugs actually were produced in the villages of the northern Lori Region (south of
Borchaly)as well.

Map 1

KARAPAPAKH (Turkish, "black hat"), a Turkic people whose language belongs to the western Oghuz division, and differs
little from Azeri and the Turkish of Turkey. They are considered as a subtribe of Kypchak.
In 1828, the Karapapakh emigrated from the region along the Debeda or Borchaly river in eastern Georgia partly to the
region of Kars (where they formed about 15% of the population) and partly to the Sulduz region of Persia, south of Lake
Rida'iyya (Urmiyya). In 1883 they numbered 21,652, of whom 11,721 were Sunnis and 9,931 Shi‘is (K. Sadovskiy,
Kratkaya zametha Karskoy oblasti, in Sbornih Materialov. . . Kavkaza, iii, 315-50); according to the Russian census of 1897
they numbered 29,879 (in the Russian Empire); in 1910 their population was given as 39,000 (Kavkazshiy Kalendar',
1910, 546) living in 99 villages in the Kars territory, of which 63 were in the Kars district, 29 in Ardahan, and 7 in
Kaglzman. In 1926, however, the Soviet census listed only 6,316 Karapapakhs, this sharp decline re- flecting the loss of
the territory of Kars to Turkey after World War I. The distribution of the Kara- papakh was given in the mid-i920s as 30%
in the U.S.S.R. and 70% in Persia (those of Turkey probably being considered simply as Turks). The traditional economy
of the Karapapakhs was based on sheep-rearing and some agriculture.

Map 2. The location of the Karachop district in Caucasian Region

Map 3. A map showing the exact location of the Karachop district

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THE REGION
Karapapakh Turks are considered
the descendants of Scythians
(Ancient people of horse-riding
nomadic pastoralists who
appeared in Transcaucasia in the
7th century BC), Bunturks (early
Turkic people appeared in
Transcaucasia 4th century BC),
Huns (a group of Turkic nomadic
pastoral people who, appearing
from beyond the Volga, migrated
into Europe c. 370 AD), Bulgars
(Turkic people that migrated to
Europe from Central Asia in the
4th century), Barsils (a semi
nomadic Turkic tribe), Khazars
(semi-nomadic Turkic people who
dominated the Pontic steppe and
the North Caucasus from the 7th
to the 10th century) and Oghuz
Turks (from the 10th century).

According to Assyrian sources, in 665 BC, Scythians passed the river Kura under the
command of King Gogu (or Gog), and they settled in the region which was later called as
Gogarena. The region was situated on the northern slopes of the lesser Caucasus, which
was called Lori later. (see map no: 3).

Map 3. The location of the Borchaly Region in Transcaucasia. Karachop is situated in the east of the Borchaly Region

The medieval Georgian source Moktsevai Kartlisai (“Conversion of Kartli”) speaks about King Iskandar (Alexander)
who met furious Bunturks in four castles (Sarkin, Kaspi, Orbanis, Ozarak) along the river Kura. He writes: “Bunturks
amazed Alexander so much that he didn’t dare to fight with them. Then fiercely warlike Hon (Huns) tribes (who
parted from Haldeys) arrived; they paid tribute to the king of the Bunturks and settled in Zanav.”

Syrian historian Mar Abbas Katina, who,
according to Emin, lived about 150 B.C., and,
according to others, in the third century C.E.
mentions the arrival of Bulgars in the south of Col
(Kol) Region.
Moses Khorenatsi (circa 410 – 490s AD), the
author of the “History of Armenia” states:
“During the reign of Arshak, big troubles occurred
in the Great Caucasian Mountains; Many Bulgars,
departing from their lands, came to our country
and settled in the fertail lands in the south of Col.
[Moses Khorenatsi,”History of the Armenians“,
Book II, Chapter 9]. It is a known fact that Moses
largely borrowed from Mar Abbas Katina’s
writings.

Bulgar Female Warrior

Moses mentions Bulgarians settling in the upper
Basean Region (also called Forestless Lands)
under the rule of Bulgarian King Vlndur Bund
(possibly Bayandur or Bahadur) and the place was
named after him as Vanand. This event happened
during the reign of Arsakid King Valarshak
(Tiridates I 56-58/59). He writes, “Even today
there are village names derived from the names
of his (Bulgarian king) descendants”. [Moses
Khorenatsi, ”History of the Armenia“, Book
I,Chapter 6].

Kakheti (province where the Karachop district is situated) Nomads, 1870

Etymology: The name of the Karachop was spelled in different ways in the west: Karachop, Karachopf, Karachov, Karachof,
Karatchof, Karatchopt, Karachoph etc. The correct form of the word is “Karachöp” as it called by its indigenous population.
The closest equivalent of “Ö” in English would be a rounded version of the "u" in "burn" for the long Ö sound and the short Ö
sound like "u" in "fur".
The toponym consists of two different words: "Kara" and "çöp". "Kara" is a word for 'black' or 'dark colour' in all Turkic languages.
In personal names, “kara” has the meaning 'strong, powerful or brave'. Çöp means ‘a piece of wood or chaff’ in all Oghuz
dialects.
There is a stream and a small populated area (sheep breeding farm) in Turkmenistan, which is also called Karachop.

Karachop’s Ancient Graveyard (Kesheli village)

Pattern and motifs: Karachop is one of the highly sought after Kazak designs. It has a central square enclosing an ivory
octagon, which contains a number of different geometric tribal devices. Most of these rugs have a red or green field, and
there is substantial variety of borders.
Karachop pattern has most probable pre-Islamic totemic sources which it shares with the Turkoman göl. Over the period
from which examples are available, the design of the Karachop rugs basically remained, stable geometric designs, possibly
because it was ancient adaptation of Central Asian totemic themes. Many symmetrical design elements to be pointed on
the north/south or vertical axis and blunted on the east/west or horizontal axis can be found commonly in rugs of Turkic
speaking people: Turkmen, Shahsavan, Azeri, Turkish etc.
The Karachop pattern was one of the most widely produced of all Kazak and Borchaly designs, and comes in a great variety
of weaves, colors and sizes. Again, the elements and their inter-relationships remain stable but the medallion contents
change. Karachops are not usually long format rugs and often they are dated, although usually not particularly early. A
'proto-Karachop' (McMullan, plate 98) from western Turkey shows four pairs of red stylized animals in the central octagonal
medallion, surrounded by four minor medallions edged with typical Turkoman-style kotshak forms. Most probably it had a
south Caucasian contemporary, but no example is known. The earliest Karachops, like other early Kazaks, are finely knotted
and not very large. They have either a red or green field, and a dark purple color is almost always present.
In a rug dated 1860, the kotshaks (rams horn motif) in the subsidiary medallions have changed to a few hook-forms and the
border is less complex.

Kochaks and hooked devices in Karachop rugs

In early times, Karachops almost always appeared on rugs approximately 5 ft 5 in x 7 ft 5 in (1.65 x 2.26m), perhaps
reflecting a traditional [cult?] use. The tendency to change both the design and the format started in the end of the 19th
century. Some latter pieces have a substantially different minor medallion, one which is often seen on examples with
synthetic dyes.

Subsidiary figures which are found at each end, in the
“2-1-2” format, can also let us to trace the lineage of
the Karachops back to the Holbein carpets and Ushaks.
Following is an image of a 16th Century Holbein Type
IV rug from the Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts in
Istanbul illustrating this relationship:

Here is another classic 2-1-2 layout of the Large-Pattern
Holbein type IV variant dominates the strong red field
of this small format rug that is punctuated
with sparkling colors of yellow, pale blue and green. A
pale aubergine purple elegantly complements the
palette. Ornamentation around the perimeter of the
central octagonal medallion indicate an earlier style. In
later renditions of this Holbein group, stiff, angular
latch-hooks often replaced the more gracefully
curved voluted extensions. The weave, with its dense,
compact, shiny wool, and red wefting, together with
the rosette border elements, recall two early fragments
in The Turk ve Islam Museum in Istanbul, each dated to
the 17th-18th century (see p.12). The rug's size, 3.6x4.2
feet, suggests that it was possibly exported to Europe
where aristocrats and wealthy merchants used them as
table covers as early as the 15th century. The rug was
formerly in the possession of Perez in London, long
known for handling great carpets from the Classical
period.

Here are large pattern Holbeins (Bergama, Turkey) from the 19th Century

Two Kagizman (Eastern Anatolian) rugs from the mid-19th century in 2-1-2 format

Second half 19th century Karachop rugs
These 2-1-2 Bergama, Karachop and the Eastern Anatolian (Kagizman) rugs – which are all of roughly the same age – carry many
similarities in design. They can be related, presuming all come from the Holbein group.
But even that they do share a 2-1-2 format, the medallions in these rugs are fundamentally and consistently different.

Structure analysis of Karachop rugs:
Yarn: always Z spin
Knots: always symmetrical (Turkish, Gordes)
Knot density: The density changes between 75 000 to 122 000
(oldest examples) per square meter. That is 49 knots per
square inch (H7pi V7) to 78 knots per square inch. Or from
750 knots per square decimeter (27Hx28V) to 1220 knots per
square decimeter (35Hx35V)
Knot irregularities: overlapping, stacked and offset knots.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool, level – often lack of weft ease.
Weft: 2 singles, red died wool, 3 up to 6 picks (shots) – The
wefts cross between sheds and sometimes cross over the
rows of knots.
Selvage: reinforced selvage in bands of colors with wool
single.
Top end: often band of two pick oblique interlacing that is
plied and sewn

The border types that were used in antique Karachop rugs

A

B

Prepared by V. Dadashov
Sources: L. Kerimov, Azerbaijan Carpet, Volume II; Hali 1.3, 1978 - The Development of Four
Kazak Designs by Raoul Tschebull; Murray L.Eiland Jr. “Oriental Rugs A complete Guide”