Transcaucasian Carpets Celaberd
| Catalogue number | 0628 |
|---|---|
| Date of issue | 14.4.2010 |
| Face value | 24 CZK |
| Print sheets | 4 pcs of stapms |
| Size of picture | 40 x 50 mm |
| Graphic designer | Václav Fajt |
| Engraver | Václav Fajt |
Theme
Celaberd (also cheleberd) carpets are the best known carpets from Karabakh, a mountaineous region in South Transcaucasia. This type of woven carpets, called according to a local village, is also known to collectors under its older name, eagle kazak, due to an earlier interpretation of the main symbol, the two-headed eagle woven in the large central radial design. English literature also mentions the poetic name sunburst kazak, referring to a sunbeam bursting through the clouds. The motif, continued and further developed in the radial medallion of celaberd carpets, is likely to have originated in the 17th or 18th century as a part of the complicated pattern of the so-called dragon carpets. Like kasim ushags and other types of rug patterns, celaberds are still classified as dragon carpets in Transcaucasia.
The form of celaberds has developed in the course of time. The oldest ones have an almost square format, a single dominant medallion and extraordinarily impressive bright colours. The celaberd of the National Gallery in Prague is one of these few carpets. Its wonderfully balanced design is emphasized with bright, excellently preserved colours: the shining red of the ground is counterbalanced with calmer changing shades of green and blue, blue, and yellow. The carpet was bought in 1886 by the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague from a renowned Viennese art dealer Theodor Graf for 55 florins. In 1961 it was transferred to the Oriental Art Collection of the National Gallery in Prague, the present custodian of more than two hundred oriental carpets, mostly kilims and other Transcaucasian carpets. The first-day cover features a detail of the camel caravan from the border of a late 19th century Karabakh shadda carpet-curtain. Celaberd carpet, South Transcaucasia, Karabakh, mid-19th century, hand-woven, wool, 194x146cm, National Gallery in Prague.
Printing method
recess print from flat plate in black combined with offset in red, blue and yellow