Talish rug

This Talish rug uses the eponymous rosette border and long and narrow format that define its group. However, the field is more active and colorful than most, as it uses rows of multi-colored shrubs with tones of gold, rose, and several blues which illuminate against a deep indigo ground. The Talish, or Talysh, are an ethnic Iranian minority traditionally inhabiting the border region of Azerbaijan that straddles Northwest Persia and the south Caucasus. The association of long Caucasian rugs that use this specific rosette border with the Talish people of the southwest Caspian coast is a bit of a misnomer, and may reflect instead the basic area where both these rugs were woven and many Talysh people lived.