Prototype. Chapter text drafted from the research notes and not yet checked at the archives. Images awaiting permission are marked.

Soumak (weft-wrapped) flatweave from the Caucasus, 1875–1925 (Textile Museum 1989.10.92)

Object · not yet checked at the source

Date: 1875–1925
Place: Dagestan area, south-eastern Caucasus (general attribution)
Held by: The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum
Number: 1989.10.92
Materials: wool
Themes: Rug-making techniques

View at the source

Cite this source

Unknown maker. Soumak (weft-wrapped) flatweave from the Caucasus, 1875–1925 (Textile Museum 1989.10.92), 1875–1925. The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, 1989.10.92. collectionstories.museum.gwu.edu/flatweave-rug-from-the-caucasus.

Research notes

How it works: in soumak, coloured supplementary wefts are wrapped around the warps rather than woven over and under them. Typically each wrap goes forward over four warps and back under two, with plain ground wefts between the wrapping rows. The front looks like herringbone or embroidery, the back is left with loose ends, and there are no slits where colours meet (Wikipedia 'Soumak'). The name may come from Shemakha in Azerbaijan, but its origin is uncertain. This object: catalogued as plain weave with supplementary-weft wrapping, Caucasus, 1875–1925. Comparison: the Fitzwilliam Museum's T.3-1961 (Caucasian, 19th century, soumak with herringbone effect). Sources: https://collectionstories.museum.gwu.edu/flatweave-rug-from-the-caucasus/ · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soumak · https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/137685 Research note (Oct 2026): from search results; pages not opened.