The World's Oldest HandMade Rug - The Pazyryk Prince
- Team Jos&fine
- Jul 5
- 4 min read
An inspiration for hand made carpet designers (Naqash), a mystery unsolved and a provenance preserved in perma-frost!
Entombed beneath the frostbitten earth of Siberia, in the silent grave of an Altai prince who lived some 2,500 years ago, a secret slept beneath layers of ice and time. Ravaged by ancient looters, the tomb was left open to the merciless chill of the Siberian wild—its treasures plundered, its stillness disturbed. Yet two things defied time and theft: the prince’s chariot, and his carpet. Preserved by the eternal clasp of permafrost, that carpet emerged in 1948—a frozen whisper from the 5th century B.C.—now enshrined in the Hermitage Museum in Moscow, where it continues to astonish the world!
ANATOMY OF THE PAZYRYK PRINCE'S CARPET
The workmanship, the colour palette and design surprised the carpet world upon its discovery.
Woven from wool and measuring 6×6.5 feet, this hand-knotted treasure has 36 symmetrical knots per cm² (~15/15 or 225 KPSI), suggesting a very advanced weaving technique for the time. Its rich and intricate motifs have been the subject of much study and interpretation.
Going through the carpet's anatomy, most evident points it being Armenian in origin, though some scholars have differing views.
Framing the central field of the Pazyryk rug are four distinct borders, each meticulously composed and rich in symbolic detail.
The innermost is a broad decorative band set against a deep red ground, punctuated by yellow squares with subtly chamfered corners. Each square encloses a mythical gryphon, outlined in dark blue—a hybrid creature with the body and tail of a lion, an eagle’s head turned backward, and upright wings, captured in a stance of vigilant power. The jagged framing and vivid contrasts hint at the importance of these guardian figures in early nomadic cosmology.
Surrounding this is a wider border featuring a dynamic parade of grazing stags—six on each of the four sides. Rendered in red with yellow antlers and spotted flanks, these deer are marked by a prominent dark-blue dorsal stripe and set against a shifting blue-green background. Their uniform orientation and repetition suggest not only ornamental rhythm but also symbolic meaning—perhaps tied to seasonal cycles or tribal emblems.
The third band is narrower and more delicate in composition. It repeats the floral motif found within the rug’s central field: cross-shaped flowers with sky-blue petals and red or dark blue sepals and veins, now set on a yellow background. This band adds a refined layer of vegetal ornamentation, offering a subtle contrast to the animal forms around it.
The outermost border is the most expansive and narratively rich. On a bold red ground, a procession of 28 light grey horses and riders—seven on each side—move in stately alignment. Each horse is carefully adorned, each rider distinct, suggesting ceremonial or possibly military significance. The scale and clarity of this outer frame emphasize its prominence, anchoring the rug’s structure while telling a visual story of motion, hierarchy, and life beyond the tomb.
WHICH HANDS MADE THE PAZYRYK RUG?
A mystery and an unending debate among scholars, carpet experts, collectors and the like.
Some argue for a Persian origin, noting similarities between the rug’s horsemen and Achaemenid reliefs at Persepolis. Proponents, including Sergei Rudenko and J.M. Cook, highlight the use of cochineal and indigo dyes, the rug’s refined knot density, and its possible connection to Persian imperial workshops and Silk Road trade.
Others suggest an Armenian provenance, championed by scholars like Volkmar Gantzhorn and Ulrich Schurmann. They cite the use of the double (Turkish) knot, dye techniques, and iconographic parallels to early Armenian art. Even the rug’s cross-shaped motifs are seen as precursors to Christian Armenian symbolism.
A third view points to a Central Asian origin, linking the rug to the nomadic Pazyryk culture itself. Here, motifs like deer and griffins reflect Scythian artistic traditions, and structural analysis aligns with broader Central Asian weaving methods influenced by both Persian and Chinese exchange.
We believe the Pazyryk Rug is of Armenian Origin. Our arguments elucidated below:
1.) The RED dye used:
Analysis at the Hermitage Museum identified the red wool’s dye as derived from Armenian cochineal, a pigment harvested exclusively in the Armenian Highlands around Mount Ararat.
2.) The Weaving Method Employed: The rug employs the Armenian double knot (a symmetrical knot widely known as “Armani Baff”). This matches early handmade carpet fragments found in Armenia—some dating as far back as the 7th–6th century BCE
3.) Startling Motif Similarities: Iconography that is rooted in Armenian Art. Several decorative themes on the rug—dragon-like griffins, horsemen, star motifs—closely resemble Middle Eastern and specifically Armenian artifacts.
From the frozen tombs of ancient Siberia to the vibrant ateliers of today, the art of hand-knotted carpet weaving has traveled through millennia—refined, reimagined, yet never replaced.
What makes these carpets extraordinary is not just the intricacy of their knots or the richness of their dyes, but the human spirit woven into every strand: patience, heritage, and imagination.
Each piece tells a story—whether of a prince entombed with his treasures, or of artisans carrying forward a tradition in silence and skill. At Jos and Fine, we don’t just honor that legacy—we add to it, knot by knot, thread by thread, whispering new stories into an age-old loom.
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