Azerbaijan Carpet Museum

Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum

Established	1967
Location	Mikayil Huseynov Street 28, Baku, Azerbaijan
Coordinates	40°21′35″N 49°50′08″E
Type	Museum
Director	Shirin Malikova
Public transit access	Icheri Sheher metro station
Website	www.azcarpetmuseum.az

Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Milli Xalça Muzeyi, formerly called the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum) is a museum located in Baku that displays Azerbaijani carpets and rugs with historical and modern weaving techniques and materials. It has the largest collection of Azerbaijani carpets in the world. First opened on Neftchiler Avenue in 1967, it moved to a new building on the Baku's seafront park in 2014.

History

Former building of the museum, now the Juma Mosque

Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum was established in accordance with the decree No. 130 of the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR dated March 13, 1967. From 1967 to 1993, the museum was called the Azerbaijan State Museum of Carpet and Folk Applied Arts, from 1993 to 2014 – State Museum of Carpet and Applied Arts named after Latif Karimov, from 2014 to 2019 – Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, and from 2019 to the present – Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum.

At the time of establishing, it was the only museum that was dedicated to the art of carpet weaving. The main purpose of the museum’s creation was to store, research, and demonstrate unique examples of the carpet weaving art, which are Azerbaijan’s national heritage. The initiator of the museum was Latif Karimov, the outstanding scientist and carpet weaver, founder of the science of Azerbaijan Carpet Art, artist and teacher, author of the fundamental work Azerbaijani Carpet. The first permanent exhibition was presented on April 26, 1972, in the building of the Juma Mosque, an architectural monument of the 19th century, located in Icherisheher (Old City). The national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev, who provided great support to the museum from the first days of its establishment, took part at the opening ceremony. In 1970–1980s, with the constant help of the country’s leadership in the person of Heydar Aliyev, Museum had regular opportunities to purchase crafts and thereby replenish its collections. In those years, masterpieces of Azerbaijani Carpet Weaving Art were purchased for the museum.

In 1992, the State Museum of Carpet and Applied Arts was moved to the Museum Center (former Lenin Museum), located at the Neftchilar Avenue. In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to the presidential decree, the building was given to the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan and renamed to Museum Center. The museum exhibition, representing the carpet samples from different regions of Azerbaijan, as well as works of other kinds of applied arts, was located in thirteen spacious rooms on the second floor.

In 2007, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree for the creation of a new building for the museum in the territory of Seaside National Park within the framework of a joint project of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. In 2014, under the direction of Austrian architect Franz Janz, the museum building, which meets all modern requirements, was completed. Over the years, the museum is continuously developed and has become one of the main storage of samples of the Azerbaijan national culture.

Azerbaijan Carpet Museum in accordance with the decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated July 15, 2019, received the National status for its significant contribution in popularization and promotion of the Azerbaijani Carpet Weaving Art. Today, Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, which is located in one of the country’s most modern buildings, not only stores a rich collection of artifacts and carpets (our nation’s most valuable heritage), but also operates as the site for the comprehensive research of traditional carpet weaving art and its popularization within the world culture.

Building

Side of the building

The structure of the building is intended to look like a rolled carpet. Designed by Austrian architect Franz Janz, the building took over six years to construct. The previous structure, a building of historical significance, was destroyed to make way for the new building.

Collection

Items in the collection

The museum vault houses 10,139 exhibits and includes seven collections: “Pile Carpets”; “Flat-woven carpets”; “Carpet Products”; “Artistic metalwork”; “Ceramics, glass, wood, paper”; “Textile, costume, embroidery”; and “Jewelry”. The museum stores curiosities related to the Bronze Age, the Ancient Period, and the early Middle Ages, while the greater part of the collection dates back to the 17th to 20th centuries.

In acquisition of collections and the further development of Azerbaijan Carpet Museum was attended by outstanding scientists of the country: academicians Rasim Efendiyev and Teymur Bunyadov, Honored Artist and the first director of the museum Aziz Aliyev, Doctors of Art History, professors Roya Taghiyeva and Kubra Aliyeva, Doctor of Historical Sciences Hasan Guliyev, Candidate of Art History Najiba Abdullayeva.

Pile carpets. The “Pile carpets” collection, which is the main component of the museum’s foundation, has 2398 exhibits dating from the 17th century to the early 20th century, and from the modern period. It presents the four types of carpet weaving in Azerbaijan: Guba-Shirvan, Ganja-Gazakh, Karabakh, and Tabriz.

Flat-woven carpets. There are 681 objects in the “Flat-woven carpets” collection. It features such products as palas, chiyi-palas, kilim, gadirga, jejim, shadda, ladi, varni, zili, and sumakh. The collection mainly covers the 18th-20th centuries.

Flat-woven carpets differ from each other through their weaving techniques, compositional structure, ornamentation, and color schemes. Palas and jejim, the compositions of which characterized by colored stripes of different widths, are woven with the simple interweaving technique. Kilim, decorated with a variety of geometric patterns, consisting of four- and six-pointed shapes, with medallion “kilimgulu” and so on, is woven with complex interweaving techniques. Flat-woven carpets like varni, shadda, zili and sumakh are woven by wrapping of third weft around warp, which gives the ability to create complex patterns: stylized dragon in the shape of letter S or Z, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic motifs, plant ornaments, composition “Khatai”, etc.

Carpet products. The “Carpet products” collection consists of 1576 items from the 19th and 20th centuries. Lightweight and comfortable carpet products were an integral part of cattle-breeding life. Everything had a utilitarian purpose. Therefore, chuval (a big carpet bag) was used to storage and transport of grain, while gashigdan (a carpet bag) hold spoons and rolling pins. The treasury also stores various carpet items, without which it is impossible to imagine the life of our ancestors: heyba (small valise); khurjun (valise consisting of two parts); gashlig (small valise attached to a saddle); mafrash (rectangular carpet valise for the storage and transport of bedding and clothing); sijim (a thick rope for banding load); orkan (a narrow rope for fixing load); balishuzu (pillowcase); sufra (tablecloth); duz torbasi (bag for salt); jorab (woolen socks); jahaz (headdress for a camel); yaharustu (rug used on a saddle); chatan (mat); kecha (felt); lama gabaghi (patterned curtain that separates the living room from the kitchen in alachig (a tent)); and asmalig (decoration for a camel).

Art Metal. The “Art Metal” collection consists of 1082 objects. It mainly covers the 19th to 20th centuries, and represents the products of metalworking from such centers as Karabakh, Nakhchivan, Shirvan, and Lahij.

For the manufacture of copper-hammered products, masters used hot and cold forging, casting, soldering, and riveting. Among the exhibited objects are sahang and guyum (copper jugs with a neck and a handle for carrying on the shoulder); satil (bucket in the shape of a cylinder, which was used for carrying water in bathhouses); parch (copper bowl); dolcha (jug for water and milk); aftafa-layan (jug and basin set for washing); jam (copper bowl); sarpush (cover for keeping food warm); ganddan (sugar bowl); meyvagabi (pedestal bowl for fruit); chil-jam (copper bowl for the religious purification ceremony of a newborn and his mother after the 40th day of birth); nimcha (plate); kasa (bowl) and gazan (pan); kafkir (skimmer); abgardan (ladle); lampa (copper lamp); gulabdan (pitcher for storing rosewater); samovar; badya (bucket); chaydan (kettle); hamam tasi (basin for the bathhouse); hamam sandigi (chest for a bathhouse, where women kept their jewels); majmai (tray); chirag (lamp); khina gabi (bowl for henna); and sharbat gabi (dish for sorbet).

The museum’s collection also contains a helmet from the late 16th-early 17th century, and a shield from the late 18th-early 19th century.

Fabrics, Costumes, Embroidery. The “Fabrics, Costumes, Embroidery” collection features 1225 objects from the 19th and 20th centuries. The museum retains examples of traditional costumes from different regions of Azerbaijan, including chepken (type of jacket); arkhalig (another type of jacket for women or men); tuman (skirt); kurdu (a quilted and sleeveless upper garment); janlig (vest); chukha (men’s outerwear); yapinji (felt cloak); chakh-chur (silk pants for women); shalvar (trousers); charig (leather shoes); labbada (women’s jacket); kulaja (women’s knee-length outerwear without fasteners that is sewn from one piece of fabric above the waist and another below the waist): koynak (shirt); aragchin (skull-cap); ruband (veil for the face with openwork mesh for the eyes); kelaghai (silk scarf for women); and charshab (veil that women wore on the street) . One of the most delicate and elegant crafts in Azerbaijan’s traditional material culture is embroidery. National costumes do not flourish without this art. The collection boasts a variety of embroidery patterns: takhcha gabaghi (curtain); sufra (tablecloth); darag gabi (comb case); tutun gabi (case for tobacco); iynadan (needle case); galamdan (case for pens); bigh baghi (mustache grooming case); heyba (medium-sized valise), mohur gabi (case for clay mohur, which takes the form of a flat circle and is extracted in the holy places – Kerbala, Mecca, Mashhad. People touch their foreheads with mohur while praying); pul kisesi (purse); yelpik (fan); namazlig (prayer rug); and Quran gabi (case for the Koran).

Various techniques were used in embroidery, such as takalduz (tambour embroidery); gulabatin (golden embroidery); pilak (embroidery with sparkles), munjug (embroidery with beads and sequins); qurama (patchwork); and julma (loop embroidery).

The collection’s oldest object is a fragment of textile, which was made in the 12th-13th century and was found during archaeological excavations in the area called Kharaba Gilan (Nakhchivan). The collection also houses such fabrics as ganovuz (kanaus, dense silk cloth) and tirma, which was popular among ordinary Azerbaijanis. Through the fabrics’ patterns and colors, one can define the ethnic groups or social classes to which the wearers belonged.

Ceramics, Glass, Wood, Paper. “Ceramics, glass, wood, paper” collection of the museum consists of 1754 exhibits. Most of them belong to the early 19th-late 20th century. The most ancient ceramic products were created in the Bronze Age and found during archaeological excavations in the Kultepe area in Nakhchivan. Among the best specimens of the ancient period (4th century BC-3rd century AD) are archaeological artifacts, which were found in Mingachevir, Sheki, Gakh, Shamakhi and Oghuz. Also housed in the collection are rare artifacts of the early and late Middle Ages from Julfa, Barda, Shamakhi, and the Palace of the Shirvanshahs in Baku. The collection includes products made in the porcelain factories of Kuznetsov, and contemporary original works on glass, wood, and ceramic. One of the collection’s most valuable pieces is the group of sketches of author carpets, graphic tables with traditional carpet motifs, and compositions by the People’s Artist of Azerbaijan Latif Karimov.

Jewelry. The “Jewelry” collection contains 817 items. Most of them belong to the 19th-early 20th century. However, the oldest are from the Bronze Age (late 3rd-early 2nd millennium BC): swords, earrings, bracelets, and totemic figures of birds. The collection includes almost all types of women’s jewelry: dumcha (headdress); earrings – piyalazang, sabat; sinebend (necklace), bogazalty (stacked necklaces); bracelets for arms and legs; rings; belts and buckles.

Breast amulet cases in women’s jewelry sets occupied a special place in Azerbaijan, where they were considered as a talisman. Miniature versions of the Koran, prayers and spells, money for alms distribution, and other items imbued with magical significance were placed in these cases. The museum funds also have a small amount of household items, such as caskets, surmadan (container for antimony), and bottles of perfume.

Daggers and swords belonged to men take their rightful place in the jewelry collection. In addition, tasbeh (prayer beads), hookahs, mushtuk, and other items decorated with filigree ornament differ with richness of decoration.

Forging, casting, stamping, carving, engraving, filigree, granulation, niello, enamel, and inlay were techniques used to decorate jewelry. The collection also stores gold and silver jewelry made by contemporary artists: Nina Pashayeva, Haji Shamov, Jamal Eyyubov, Ali Ahmadov, Alimukhtar Zeynalov, and Rashid Mammadov, who continue the tradition of Azerbaijani jewelry art.

International exhibitions

The museum does research and public service work. Every year, state and international exhibitions are organized and catalogues on carpets are printed by the museum. The museum has also held exhibitions in more than 30 countries including France, Germany, England, Japan, the Netherlands. In 1998, the museum participated in a UNESCO-organized exhibition in Paris dedicated to Fuzûlî and in 1999 dedicated to the 1,300th anniversary of the Book of Dede Korkut and displayed carpets, folk applied art items, including copper jugs, mugs, buckets and saddlebags.

Ideological background

See also: Historical negationism § Azerbaijan

According to the peer-reviewed International Journal of Heritage Studies, the basis of classification and exhibition in the carpet museum of Baku is rooted in several factors, such as the geographical indicators associated with regional carpets, which reflect the development of a new type of state-sponsored national consciousness in the 1950s during the existence of the Azerbaijan SSR of the Soviet Union. During de-Stalinization, the Central Committee of the Azerbaijan Communist Party approved reforms aimed at defining and encouraging Azerbaijani history and culture, as well as replacing Russian with Azerbaijani as the constituent state language of the Azerbaijan SSR. Much of the contemporaneous Baku Central Committee had been active in Iran in the 1940s as part of the Soviet occupation, and its members firmly believed that Iran's Azerbaijan region historically belonged to their nation. The controversial decision to replace Russian with Azerbaijani as the official state language of the Azerbaijan SSR was also implemented partly in response to its Transcaucasian rivals, the Armenian and Georgian SSRs, who had already made their own native languages official in their respective republics in 1936 after the dissolution of the Transcaucasian SFSR. This period was also when the designation Azerbaijani replaced Turk in official usage. The issue of Karabakh was brought up again during de-Stalinization, with the Armenians of the predominantly Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast requesting unification with the Armenian SSR. All such cultural initiatives from the Azerbaijan SSR emerged in an environment of relative freedom of expression; a rise of nationalism in the Caucasus region; a fixation on Iran's Azerbaijan region; as well as a surge in rivalry with its Transcaucasian Soviet neighbors, especially Armenia, over "national rights and territory". The International Journal of Heritage Studies notes:

The above issues are the basis of classification and exhibition in the Carpet Museum in Baku. The implied territorial claims within the classification are put to contentious political use within the museum. These include claims over Iranian Azerbaijan, which the Azerbaijani government refers to as 'Southern Azerbaijan', and exclusive claims leaving out Armenia over territories in Karabakh. The current museum reflects Karimov's taxonomy (which, as noted, was a nationalist project) as well as his detailed classification of the historical periods of carpet production.

and:

Throughout the other two levels, exhibits are clustered in groups along the linear space of the exhibition. While the act of weaving is on display (using not only electronic footage and imagery, but also live demonstrations by weavers), the exhibits illustrate various applications of carpets, including in domestic life but also their utility in reflecting some historical events. Of note is a carpet depicting heroes of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution, many of whom were from Iranian Azerbaijan. Although naming them, the museum (following the official line in the Republic of Azerbaijan) remains silent on the national origin of the depicted heroes. In instances such as this, the visitor is left to the interpretation provided by official guides to understand the characters and their historical roles. The result is more often than not, affirming a nationalist Azerbaijani narrative, that makes implicit claims on territory outside of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The third level of the museum, which is devoted to Latif Karimov, presents and acknowledges Karimov as the "undisputed authority in the science and art of carpet weaving, thereby establishing the accuracy of the exhibitions thorough the scientific standing of Karimov". On the museum's second level there is a specific woven piece meant to reflect Karimov's classification and groupings of carpets, which the International Journal of Heritage Studies describes as "perhaps the most striking exhibit, in so far as territorial claims are concerned". On the piece, "under the banner of Azerbaijani carpet, various forms, motifs and artistic commonalities between Azerbaijan and other nations and ethnicities, including Iranians and Armenians are claimed and appropriated."

See also

• Azerbaijan State Museum of Art
• Azerbaijan State Museum of History

External links

• Azerbaijan Carpet Museum at Google Cultural Institute
• Azerbaijani Carpets
• Carpet Weaving in Azerbaijan