SHEMAKHAS.âFlatly woven Soumaks are not the only rugs of the Shemakha tribes. Some of the same people, who dwell among the ranges of the Caucasus a short distance to the north, make rugs of pile that occasionally surpass in quality of material and beauty of colour scheme the best of Daghestans, and are sometimes spoken of by dealers as "Royal Daghestans;" yet they are seldom seen and little known. In fact, they are frequently mistaken for Persian fabrics on account of the subdued richness of their deep reds, blues, greens, yellows, and browns, and the patterns which are largely floral.
Very often the principal border stripe is the well-known Georgian pattern, that occurs in so many Soumaks, even though the secondary stripe be some Persian pattern. These rugs also resemble the Soumaks in the coloured woollen selvage of the sides, and in the narrow coloured web of "herring-bone" weave and knotted fringe of the ends. In some, the field is divided by diagonal bars into large diamond-shaped figures containing conventionalised flowers; in others, it is merely a background over which are strewn more realistically drawn floral forms; and in all is expressed an artistic perception of design and colour not frequently found in Caucasian pieces.
_Type Characteristics._ _Colours_, principally blue, red, and brown. _Knot_, Ghiordes. Knots to inch horizontally seven to eleven; perpendicularly, seven to thirteen. The rows of knots are pressed down, so that the warp is almost hidden. _Warp_, wool; one of the two threads encircled by a knot is depressed below the other at back. _Weft_, wool, of fine or medium diameter. A thread of weft crosses twice between every two rows of knots. _Pile_, wool, of medium length. _Border_, two to three stripes. _Sides_, a blue selvage of two or three cords. _Both ends_, a narrow blue web of "herring-bone" weave, a knotted selvage or several rows of knots, and short warp fringe. _Texture_, slightly firm. _Weave_ at back is of moderately fine grain. _Usual length_, four to eight feet. _Usual width_, two fifths to two thirds length.
TIFLIS.âWhen it is considered that for centuries Tiflis has been the Georgian capital, where culture and art received more encouragement than in the provinces; that it was in constant communication with the rug-producing countries on all sides; and was on one of the great highways between Persia and Europe, it is surprising that what has been written hitherto about Caucasian rugs has contained almost no reference to a type peculiar to this city and district. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that within recent years hardly any rugs have been produced there, and that the old pieces are few and but little known.