Lesghi – Dagestan, Northeast Caucasus

This vibrant rug carries the familiar Lesghi stars — the radiant, spiked figure by which this Caucasian group signs its work. Across an extensive field of red jasper, five of these stars float amid a true cosmos of geometric symbols and small human and animal figures, each one a word in the weaver’s private vocabulary. Bands of denim blue and ivory, set with hooked devices, frame the constellation. Lesghi weavings from Dagestan are prized for exactly this density of life — no empty space, no idle motif. A rug that rewards the tenth viewing as generously as the first.