4.3 x 5.11 Antique Chi Chi Rug, Northeast Caucasus, Circa 1900
Antique Chi Chi rugs are among the most famous and collectable types of antique Caucasian rugs. Technically, they belong to the group of rugs woven in the Kuba district in the northeast Caucasus to the west of the Caspian Sea. Kuba rugs tend to be heavier than their counterparts woven south in the Shirvan district. That said, rugs with the distinctive border style associated with Chi Chi, and/or the all-over field design of stylized flowerheads and geometric motifs also characteristic of Chi Chi rugs appear to not have been exclusively woven in the Kuba district but also in Shirvan. This example has a selvedge and end finish, plus a lighter weight, more typical of Shirvan rugs but the design fits clearly into the Chi Chi paradigm.
The majority of Chi Chi rugs have navy blue fields, making the salmon field example somewhat uncommon. Chi Chi rugs are also often long and narrow and this more square example is, again, a bit uncommon.
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Douglas Stock Gallery, antique Oriental rugs, South Natick,MA, Boston area, New England
