Caucasus, Azerbaijan & Anatolia
Ivory-Border Soumak With Triple Diamond Medallions
Soumak Rugs
A Caucasian-design soumak whose madder-red field carries three large stepped diamond medallions in indigo and slate blue, each filled with hooked star-and-cross motifs in the manner of Kazak and Genje weaving. A broad ivory border of angular hooks and serrated leaves frames the centre. Worked in naturally dyed handspun wool with the weft-wrapping soumak technique, the warm red ground against the pale border gives it a crisp, confident and tribal character.
The tradition
Caucasus, Azerbaijan & Anatolia
Soumak is one of the oldest flat-weaving techniques of the Caucasus and Central Asia, its name often linked to the town of Shamakhi in Azerbaijan. Unlike a knotted pile carpet, a soumak is built by wrapping the coloured weft yarns over and around the warp threads, producing a flat, hard-wearing surface with a distinctive herringbone-like texture on the front and loose floating threads on the back.
At Hunza Carpet the soumak loom carries both the classic vocabulary of the Caucasus — Shahsavan, Verneh and Shirvan designs — and original Hunza compositions drawn from the valley's own embroidery, so a single shelf can hold an Azerbaijani medallion piece beside an ibex design that belongs only to the Karakoram.
Motifs & meaning
Reading the design
Soumak designs are emblematic rather than pictorial: bold medallions, hooked diamonds and rows of stylised creatures, each carrying meaning passed down through generations of weavers.
Stepped medallion
Central authority and protection of the home.
Hooked diamond (latch-hook)
Warding off the evil eye and misfortune.
S-form / dragon
An ancient Caucasian guardian motif tied to water and fertility.
Running-dog border
Continuity and a protective boundary around the field.
Ibex (Hunza design)
The wild mountain goat of the Karakoram — strength and surefootedness.
Materials & technique
How it is made
Worked in naturally dyed, handspun wool on a wool foundation. The weft-wrapping technique gives a flat, reversible-feeling face that is dense and durable, prized for floors and equally at home on a wall.
Interested in ivory-border soumak with triple diamond medallions?
Leave your email or WhatsApp and we'll share current availability, pricing and condition.