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The Ganja carpet hub is located in north-west of Azerbaijan comprising
the city of Ganja with adjacent villages, as well as places like Gedabey,
Goranboy, Shamkir and Samukh. Ganja retained its role as the local
carpet production center.
Back in the X-XI centuries, Ganja was widely famous for its silk and
wool textile and high quality carpets. What made the Ganja carpets so
distinct was veracity of patterns, diversity in compositions and refined
lines. The local carpets feature large medallions with symmetric
ornaments in the middle. It is this optic game that makes the Azerbaijani
carpets look extremely dynamic.
The Ganja carpets include about 20 compositions. In old days, carpets
of 8 different compositions were woven in each village. Places like
Ganja, Samukh and Fakhraly were known for compositions under the
same names.
Gedim Ganja
and
Fakhraly
designs are the best examples
of the Ganja carpets.
Fakhraly
carpets were normally small in size and
are used as prayer rugs (namazlyg). The middle area of these carpets is
oftentimes pointed with a vaulted or circular arch (mehrab).
What makes these carpets even more eye-catching and fresh-looking is
the white background of the middle fringe and colors with decorative
motifs in the middle.
The Ganja carpets are generally large in size (3,2x1,6 meters), although
some smaller works are also typical of the area (like 1,6x1,0 meter).
Density of knots varies from 25x25 to 40x40 knots per square decimeter.
Pile height ranges from 5 to 7 millimeters.