Sileh – Karabagh, South Caucasus

This splendid Sileh is of outstanding artistry, woven in the finest Soumak technique. Four alternating columns of great S-forms in reverse — the ancient dragon cipher of the Caucasus — structure the composition in ivory and indigo, surrounded by a population of tribal and animal motifs. The primary colour is earth red, but the true wealth is the spectrum around it: ivory, lemon-yellow, sand, orange, walnut, pistachio, jade, sky-blue, cobalt, indigo, rose-red, purple. The highly graphic drawing produces an effect of solid contrast — bold as a woodcut, intricate as embroidery. A flat-weave of ceremonial presence.