Pazyryk is the oldest known carpet, discovered in 1949 by archaeologist Rudenko in Altai, in the 5th kurgan of Pazyryk, hence the name of the carpet. The carpet is now housed by the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
The carpet dates back to the 5th-4th centuries BC, its dimensions are 183x198 cm, it is woven with a density of 3600 knots/dm². It is woven entirely of wool. The carpet remained in a frozen icegrave for about 2500 years (there is a version that the grave was robbed, after which it was filled with water and froze) and thus, being free from any external influence, it has been preserved practically intact until our times. In addition, it is notable for its rich system of decoration. In this ancient carpet we see not some long-ply substitute for nomadic fur, but a multicultural, delicate, short-ply fabric made in a skilled workshop, which is admirable even for the times of our rich culture of carpet weaving.
The creation of the carpet and its belonging to any nation are still unclear and causes many disagreements.
The head of the excavations S. I. Rudenko, comparing the decorative elements of this sample and the carpets and rugs discovered in the neighboring Bashadar kurgan, as well as taking into account its harmonious color and pattern solutions, had already come to the view that the Pazyryk carpet had a Middle-Eastern origin.
Some scholars attribute the carpet to Achaemenid Persian, Turkic-Oghuz, and Sino-Mongol origins. A number of researchers, in particular Ulrich Schurmann, Volkmar Ganzhorn and others, believe that this carpet was woven in the Kingdom of Van and that it relates to Armenian culture.
Briefly describing the structure of the Pazyryk carpet, we can say that it consists of a central field, where 24 similar medallions are placed. The field is surrounded by 5 borders of different widths. The first small inner border consists of small squares, in which eagle-like griffins appear on a yellow background. In the second inner border, on a light blue background, a row of bucks is presented, which Schurmann considers to be Middle Eastern bucks, the male counterpart to the spotted deer. The third border shows a pattern of leaves and flowers. The fourth zone is the widest, and shows riders, as well as soldiers standing on the floor and holding the reins of horses. The last border repeats the first, but the griffins are facing in the opposite direction.
Schurman believes that the carpet was made in Sakic, the Scythian capital of the time, located south of Lake Urmia, in the country of Urartu. He justifies the fact that the city was located a little east of Nineveh, which is why the stone carpets of the palaces of Nineveh bear a strong resemblance to the medallions on the field of the Pazyryk carpet. Thus, Sakic could be the residence of the king buried in the cemetery of the Altai mountains. He was certainly an educated and bright individual and may have ordered the rug years ahead of his death and the Armenians, whose influence at that time reached from the southern slopes of the Caucasus till the north of Assyria, will have provided the wool, the artistic conception, and the magnificent workmanship of the rug.
Studying the carpet’s symbolism, Schurman concludes that it is a funeral carpet commissioned many years ago. Based on Herodotus’ description, the archaeologist believes that the Pazyryk carpet was most likely spread as a protective item under the bodies of the deceased king and queen (who, according to tradition, was supposed to die with the king). Also, according to Scythian beliefs, the buck and the griffin are symbols of the transition from life to death. Therefore, the main row of bucks and the two accompanying griffin borders are an indication by the carpet maker that the carpet was made as a funerary attribute. Schurmann also places great emphasis on the symbolism of the two non-repeating rosettes in the upper left corner, which he considers to be wheels, and again appeals to Herodotus, whose story states that during the funeral ceremony special chariots were prepared with 50 slaves and 50 horses, who accompanied the king.
Volkmar Ganzhorn, somewhat agreeing with Schurmann, nevertheless excludes that the horsemen depicted on the carpet are Scythians. Turning to the Armenian delegation depicted in the bas-reliefs of Persepolis, Golzmann believes that they are the ones who correspond to the horsemen depicted on the carpet, both in terms of the men's headdress and the size of the horses.
Ganzhorn also questions the existence of a Pazyryk funeral carpet. The procession depicted in the carpet could also be a procession of honor, and the rosettes, called wheels by Schurman, could mean loyalty until death. But they could also be symbols of the sun, at the beginning of the mounted procession, and ritual tables, between the symbols of light. It is possible that it was a throne carpet, which was placed in the grave with the deceased. However, Ganzhorn, like Schurman, considers that the carpet is Armenian and made by Armenians. Here he simply believes that the creators were Phrygian Armenians and that the Pazyryk kurgan is also not Scythian, but Phrygian-Armenian. The author also emphasizes the fact that the carpet is woven with a double knot, which is characteristic of Armenian carpet weaving.
Source:
Ulrich Schurmann, «The Pazyryk. Its Use and Origine» (in Armenian)
Volkmar Gontzhorn, «The Christian-Oriental Carpet» (in Armenian)
Ashkhunj Poghosyan, «On the Genealogy of the Pazyryk Carpet» (in Armenian)