Shirvan – Southeast Caucasus

This cheerful Shirvan radiates light. Over a field of golden yellow — rare and coveted in Caucasian weaving — a red medallion with a sky-blue diamond presides over a merry scattering of octagons, stars and geometric figures in brick, slate blue and ivory, each seeming to twinkle against the sunny ground. The ivory border is planted with stylized tulips, adding a botanical grace note to the geometry. Yellow-ground Shirvans are prized precisely for this quality of captured sunlight; more than a century on, this one continues radiating its joy undiminished.

The golden-yellow field is among the rarest and most valued colours in Caucasian weaving — few surviving examples display it with this intensity.