Pazyryk

An Afghan Pazyryk rug, knotted by hand by Turkoman weavers with hand-carded, hand-spun, vegetable-dyed wool. Very fine weave.

Inspired by the oldest surviving knotted-pile carpet in the world, this remarkable design traces its origins to the fifth to fourth century B.C., when the original Pazyryk carpet was woven with extraordinary sophistication and preserved for over two millennia, frozen in the elite burial mound of a Pazyryk nomad prince in the Altai Mountains. Today, master weavers in northern Afghanistan faithfully recreate this extraordinary ancient design. The intricate lattice field echoes the original cross-shaped floral motifs, while processions of horses and riders, broad-antlered deer, and griffins along the borders recall the equestrian cultures of the ancient Eurasian steppes, bringing one of the world’s most historically significant carpet designs into contemporary weaving.