Alberto Boralevi

Kaitags and other embroidered textiles:

a personal view

SCHWAZ - Museum der Völker

10 September 2019
 Kaitags can be seen as an interpretation of classical Oriental
textiles: Ottoman or Safavid , that have been translated in the
vernacular language of their peculiar technique.
The same sometimes happens also with knotted rugs
We can classify Kaitags by design, in three main groups:

A- tribal/abstract
B - textile patterns
C – with animals
 To the first group we can ascribe examples like these:

Horne motives, stylized trees zig-zag lines as symbol of water.

All these are ornaments frequently found in tribal repertoires of various cultures
In other examples we can see concentric and radial round
figures, possibly evoking the sunburst.
 Sometimes these round figures become more rigid and formal: a kind of a disc
which could be interpreted as symbol of the earth, or possibly should be referred
to the medallion pattern of knotted carpets and other classical textiles

is it a dartboard?
 In these three examples we can clearly see the evolution of design:
from a simple layout of concentric discs to a true medallion with pendants

Or it is the opposite?
The pattern of some Kaitags is clearly derived from classical textiles produced in the
ateliers of the Ottoman Court, like the precious silk velvets (çatma) , often used as
cushion covers (yastik).

Kaitag Çatma yastik Kaitag

Examples of Çatma yastiks
exhibited in april 2007.at Topkapi
Palace, Istanbul
Similar designs and patterns are to be found also in later
wool yastiks, made as knotted rugs in the 19th and early
20th centuries, that can be considered as a cheaper and
popular version of their precious Court forerunners of the
16th and 17th centuries.
In rare cases, as with this outstanding
example exhibited in Innsbruck, the
inspiration of a kaitag may have come from
other precious textiles, like the example
below

Bargello museum,
Florence
Transformation of a pomegranate
Some Kaitags show a grid of ogives enclosing floral elements , a pattern clearly
derived from Ottoman Court textiles, either velvets (çatma) or silk fabrics (kemhe)
Besides çatmas, the same pattern appears also
in Ottoman embroideries like bokçes.

kaitag

çatma bokçe
A frequently used motif, both in Kaitags and in some of the rarest
Ottoman embroideries is the tulip (laleh) depicted in thetypical
style of the Ottoman Court.
This other unusual and beautiful Kaitag we saw in
Innsbruck was inspired by velvets too, using only
two elements: the tulip and the crown
The tulip is very often found in
Classical Ottoman Art, not only in
velvets and embroidery, but also
in Iznik pottery.
But it could be
referred also to
the patterns of the
earliest Caucasian
carpets
A good comparison can be done
in particular with the so-called
Dragon Carpets family!
Similar connections can be found also in 17th century Azerbaijanian embroideries
as well as in 19th century pile carpets, like the Kasim Ushag from Karabakh, all
showing ornaments derived from Dragon Carpets similarly to those we have seen
in Kaitags and possibly also in the earlier Ottoman velvets.
Even a kaitag clearly inspired to a woven textile, or to a classical
embrooidery can be compared to a knotted carpet.
 For some of the rarest kaitag examples instead, the textile
reference is totally clear and unambiguous

Kaftan of Sultan Bayezid II (1481-1512)

Istanbul, Topkapı Sarayı
 The saz motif (reed leave) is a kind of Ottoman brand, often used
in silk Court textiles, as well as in some rare , so-called, Court Kilims

Silk brocaded panel (kemhe) with Ottoman kilim, Egypt (?), 17th c., Silk brocaded panel (kemhe) with
the saz motif, Turkey 16th c. Istanbul Vakiflar Museum the saz motif, Turkey 16th c.
Floral meanders can be found in
Ottoman embroidery and earlier
velvets as well as in this unique kaitag.

15th c. Italian
(?) velvet

Ottoman embroidery

kaitag
It is well known that the so-called bird pattern of white ground Selendi carpets
can be related to the stylized leaves of Iznik tiles.
They create a swastika or, better, a vortex device that can be found also in
kaitags.

Iznik tiles in the

Rustem Pasha
mosque, Istanbul.

Bird Selendi
Kaitag
The Cosmic vortex, or swastika,
is spread all over in the East
and can be found in the
Caucasus as well as in Ottoman
Turkey.

Kaitag

Azerbaijanian embroidery

Pinwheel Kazak
Kaitag
In some rare Caucasian pile rugs the swastikas
have foliate arms like in the kaitag shown
here.

Caucasian rugs

Kaitag
The last and the most intriguing of the
kaitag groups shows animals and human
beings. Patterns and motives can be
referred to Safavid textiles and
embroideries as well as to the most precious
Persian rugs.

18th century Caucasian embroidery,

possibly Kaitag. London V & A Museum

18th century Caucasian embroidery in

Safavid style. London V & A Museum
 Looking at these embroideries we can admire the precision of drawing,
certainly derived by miniature paintings and other art forms.
Costumes are particularly interesting

18th century Caucasian embroidery in

Safavid style. London V & A Museum
A similar turban with a long red feather is portrayed also in this other figural
embroidery, attributed to Safavid Iran, second half of the 16th century

Private collection. sold at Christie’s, London, 28th April 2017

The archers of the Victoria and Albert Museum
kaitag show instead a different hat resembling a
Phrygian cap, a headgear that seems to have
originated in Achaemenid Persia.

18th century Caucasian embroidery,

possibly Kaitag. London V & A Museum
In some very rare, but later kaitags,
the same feature appears transformed
in a very naïve style with acrobatic
horsemen that look like aliens coming
from another planet.
But they also recall some eurasian
bronzes of the 12th century.
Miniature from a Nizami Khamsa, Tabriz 1539-43

Other examples show instead a more

accurate design directly derived from
Persian miniature paintings. It is
interesting to see how details like the
horsecover, the long tuft under the
horse neck or the quivers are
reproduced
An outstanding kaitag, among those exhibited at Innsbruck, seems to be the
missing link between the earlier examples with hunting scenes and the later
naïve embroideries with ‘alien’ horsemen.
How the quiver became a tail!
Even more intriguing are
the male and female
figures dancing around
the three horsemen

This layout recalls that of

another, possibly earlier
embroidery of similar type. The
meaning of this scene is still a
mistery for me and any
comment in this concern will be
welcome!
The Victoria &
Albert Museum
preserves another
early Safavid
embroidery,
extremely well
designed and with a
very complex
pattern of human
beings enclosed in
cartouches, with
wild animals
(leopards) running
free around them.
This curious , unpublished, kaitag from an Italian
private collection seems to be related to it.
To conclude, I like to show you an example that to my knowledge is unique and
doesn’t fit with any of the groups previously seen. I call this the calligraphic kaitag!
The closest design relation I could find, probably doesn't have anything to do with
. but it is very attractive.
it,

I mean the fantastic design of the 2,000 years old kilim fragments
excavated in the Shanpula Oasis in the Xinjian region in China at the
southern border with the Taklamakan desert!
THANK YOU
DANKE
GRAZIE !