Kaitag Textile
96 x 68 cm (3' 2" x 2' 3")
Caucasus, 18th century
Condition: good for its age, slight abrasions, scattered small repairs, slight signs of use, backed with fabric
Silk on cotton

Even more than 30 years after the "discovery" and publication of the first monograph, Kaitags are still something special. This may be due, on the one hand, to the limited number of surviving embroideries, and on the other hand, to the fact that these textile works of art never cease to surprise. In our piece, the eye is naturally drawn immediately to the kaleidoscope-like square from which the central medallion seems to leap out. This design is likely unique. To achieve this effect, the otherwise standard running stitch had to be abandoned. Instead, the individual squares were filled with simple stitches crisscrossing back and forth. Only if you look very closely will you discover that attempts were made here and there to use the overcast running stitch. However, the pattern is actually too intricate and irregular for this. The embroidery technique in this section, as well as the color scheme, resemble a piece featured by Hagop Manoyan in Hali 163, page 87. If we now look at the overall view, we see quite familiar forms, but also discover a bird in the upper left corner of the round medallion. This, too, is freely embroidered.
In Robert Chenciner's seminal book "Kaitag. Textile Art from Daghestan," a piece is illustrated under number 36 in which the upper and lower corner borders are quite similar. He writes that the medallion, which features appendages in his piece, could originate from Persian medallion carpets. Under number 42, however, he shows a piece that he associates with Ottoman velvet cushions and whose center resembles ours. The comparison with the cushions also explains the orange stripes outside the border in our fantastic example. For such a cushion, called a yastik, which also explains the design of the orange field, see "Çatma & Kemha. Ottoman Silk Textiles," number 40. Embroiderers from Dagestan, inspired by textiles from other cultures, have created unique works of art through their artistic interpretations that continue to inspire us.