Kazak

An Afghan Keyhole Kazak rug, knotted by hand with hand-carded, hand-spun, vegetable-dyed wool, woven by master weavers in northern Afghanistan.

Inspired by the distinctive single-medallion, “keyhole” Kazak design group of the southwestern Caucasus, the tradition flourished in nineteenth-century village weaving and has been associated by scholars with much earlier geometric medallion designs of Anatolian carpets. Kufic-derived borders, highly stylized forms derived from early Arabic calligraphic ornament, were also widely adopted in Caucasian weaving, particularly in Shirvan and other eastern Caucasian traditions. Recreated today by Afghan weavers, these historic forms bring the bold geometric character of Caucasian weaving into contemporary hand-knotted carpets.