History
The Azerbaijan Carpet Museum was created under the Decree No. 130 dated March 13, 1967 of the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR. From 1967 to 1993, the museum was called the Azerbaijan State Museum of Carpet and Folk Applied Arts, from 1993 to 2014 - State Museum of Carpet and Applied Arts named after Latif Karimov, from 2014 to the present time the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum.
At the time of establishing, it was the only museum that was dedicated to the art of carpet weaving. The main purpose of the creation of the museum was to store, research, and demonstrate unique examples of the carpet weaving art, which are the Azerbaijan’s national heritage. The initiator of the museum was Latif Karimov – an outstanding scientist and carpet weaver, the founder of the science of Azerbaijan Carpet Weaving Art, artist and teacher, author of the fundamental work Azerbaijani carpet.
The first exposition was presented on April 26, 1972 in the building of the Juma Mosque, an architectural monument of the 19th century, located in the Icherisheher – Old City. The national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev, who provided a great support to the museum from first days of the establishment, took part at the opening ceremony. In 1970-1980s with the constant help of the country's leadership in the person of Heydar Aliyev Museum had regular opportunities to purchase crafts and thereby replenish the collections of the museum. In those years for the museum were purchased masterpieces of Azerbaijani Carpet Weaving Art.
In 1992, Azerbaijan Carpet Museum was moved to the Museum Center (former Lenin Museum), located at the Neftchilar Avenue. In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to the presidential decree, the building was given to the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan and renamed to Museum Center. The exhibition of the museum, representing the carpet samples from different regions of Azerbaijan, as well as works of other kinds of applied arts, was located in thirteen spacious rooms of the second floor.
In 2007, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, signed a decree for the creation of a new building for the museum in the territory of Seaside National Park, within the framework of a joint project of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and UNESCO. In 2014, under the direction of Austrian architect Franz Janz, the museum building, which meets the all modern requirements, was completed. Over the years, the museum is continuously developed and has become one of the main storage of samples of the Azerbaijan national culture.
The museum has become a research-training and cultural-educational center where many events, such as exhibitions, international symposiums, and conferences, are held. During its 50 years of existence, the museum has organized more than 30 exhibitions in different countries throughout the world. In 1983, on the initiative of Heydar Aliyev and the organizational support of UNESCO, in the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum was held an international symposium entitled Art of Oriental carpet weaving. Later, international symposiums such as Azerbaijan Carpet Weaving Art (1988) and Azerbaijan Carpet and Applied Art (2003) were held with the close participation of the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum. Additionally, in 2007 the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum participated in an international symposium entitled Azerbaijan Carpet Weaving Art dedicated to Latif Karimov’s 100th anniversary, which took place at UNESCO’s Headquarters, in Paris. The museum cooperates closely with influential international organizations, such as the European Textile Network (ETN), the European Museum Forum (EMF), the International Council of Museums (ICOM), UNESCO, and the Intergovernmental Foundation for Educational, Scientific and Cultural Cooperation (IFESCCO).
In 2004, a law on the Preservation and Development of Azerbaijan Carpet was enacted with the museum’s participation. The law aimed to implement the registration of Azerbaijan carpets, protect and support their development, and coordinate scientific and methodical training. In 2010, the Azerbaijan Carpet Weaving Art was included in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity through the assistance of Mehriban Aliyeva, First Lady of Azerbaijan, the President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, member of Milli Majlis (National Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan), and Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO and ISESCO.
Today, the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, which is located in one of the country’s most modern buildings, not only stores a rich collection of artifacts and carpets (our nation’s most valuable heritage), but also operates as the site for the comprehensive research of traditional carpet weaving art and its popularization within world culture.
Collection history
In acquisition of collections and the further development of Azerbaijan Carpet Museum was attended by outstanding scientists of the country: academicians Rasim Efendiyev and Teymur Bunyadov, Honored Artist and the first director of the museum Aziz Aliyev, Doctors of Art History, professors Roya Taghiyeva and Kubra Aliyeva, Doctor of Historical Sciences Hasan Guliyev, Candidate of Art History Najiba Abdullayeva.
As a result, numerous research expeditions in different regions of Azerbaijan were enriched museum funds by items of material culture of the country. Here, were collected the Azerbaijani carpets, carpet items, and other kinds of crafts. The museum vault houses 10,139 exhibits and includes seven collections: “Pile Carpets”; “Flat-woven carpets”; “Carpet Products”; “Artistic metalwork”; “Ceramics, glass, wood, paper”; “Textile, costume, embroidery”; and “Jewelry”. The museum stores curiosities related to the Bronze Age, the Ancient Period, and the early Middle Ages, while the greater part of the collection dates back to the 17th to 20th centuries.
Direktor : Shirin Melikova
Adress Baku.city Mikayıl Useynov ave, 28
Phone (+994) 12-497-20-57; (+994) 12-497-20-16
E-mail [email protected]
Pile carpets
The “Pile carpets” collection, which is the main component of the museum’s foundation, has 2323 exhibits dating from the 17 th century to the early 20 th century, and from the modern period. It presents the four types of carpet weaving in Azerbaijan: Guba-Shirvan, Ganja-Gazakh, Karabakh, and Tabriz. Carpets were widely used in the daily life of people. Azerbaijan carpets are distinguished with a vast variety of decorative compositions that number over 600 designs. The museum collection also stores carpets produced by Azerkhalcha OJSC. It was founded in 1927 and continues the ancient traditions of carpet art. Professional modern artists have played a major role in the development of carpet art. Among them is the master and scientist Latif Karimov, whose sketches Lachakturunj, Bahar (“Spring”), Heyvanlar alami (“World of animals”), Shabi- Hijran (“Night of separation”), and Safiaddin Urmavi were translated into woven carpets. The museum also presents the works of Kamil Aliyev – Nizami, Nasimi, Heydar Aliyev, Eldar Mikayilzadeh – Shabi-Hijran and Nagillar alami (“World of fairytales”); Jafar Mudjiri – Saib Tabrizi and others. The oldest exhibit is the 17 th century carpet Ajdahali (“The Dragon”), an example of the Karabakh type. The carpet was bequeathed to the museum by the American collector Grover Schiltz and was donated by his wife Beverly Schiltz in 2013.
Flat-woven carpets
There are 657 objects in the “Flat-woven carpets” collection. It features such products as palas, chiyi-palas, kilim, gadirga, jejim, shadda, ladi, varni, zili, and sumakh. The collection mainly covers the 18 th -20 th centuries. Flat-woven carpets differ from each other through their weaving techniques, compositional structure, ornamentation, and color schemes. Palas and jejim, the compositions of which characterized by colored stripes of different widths, are woven with the simple interweaving technique. Kilim, decorated with a variety of geometric patterns, consisting of four- and six-pointed shapes, with medallion “kilimgulu” and so on, is woven with complex interweaving techniques. Flat- woven carpets like varni, shadda, zili and sumakh are woven by wrapping of third weft around warp, which gives the ability to create complex patterns: stylized dragon in the shape of letter S or Z, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic motifs, plant ornaments, composition “Khatai”, etc. Flat-woven carpets were common in everyday life, and were used for such things as flooring, covering of alachig (tent), curtains, clothes, tablecloths and etc. But by producing of these essentials were fully showed genius of people, the originality of their thoughts.
Jewelry
The “Jewelry” collection contains 796 items. Most of them belong to the 19th- early 20th century. However, the oldest are from the Bronze Age (late 3rd-early 2nd millennium BC): swords, earrings, bracelets, and totemic figures of birds. The collection includes almost all types of women’s jewelry: dumcha (headdress); earrings – piyalazang, sabat; sinebend (necklace), bogazalty (stacked necklaces); bracelets for arms and legs; rings; belts and buckles. Breast amulet cases in women’s jewelry sets occupied a special place in Azerbaijan, where they were considered as a talisman. Miniature versions of the Koran, prayers and spells, money for alms distribution, and other items imbued with magical significance were placed in these cases. The museum funds also have a small amount of household items, such as caskets, surmadan (container for antimony), and bottles of perfume. Daggers and swords belonged to men take their rightful place in the jewelry collection. In addition, tasbeh (prayer beads), hookahs, mushtuk, and other items decorated with filigree ornament differ with richness of decoration. Forging, casting, stamping, carving, engraving, filigree, granulation, niello, enamel, and inlay were techniques used to decorate jewelry. The collection also stores gold and silver jewelry made by contemporary artists: Nina Pashayeva, Haji Shamov, Jamal Eyyubov, Ali Ahmadov, Alimukhtar Zeynalov, and Rashid Mammadov, who continue the tradition of Azerbaijani jewelry art.