Dragon

This delicate piece features various dragon motifs inspired by the famed “dragon” carpets, celebrated as some of the finest examples of the Garabagh carpet school. These carpets are uniquely structured, often depicting mystical animals. They were primarily woven in Garabagh, Shirvan, and Guba between the 16th and 18th centuries, though textile fragments with dragon motifs also date back to the Ilkhanid period (13th – 14th centuries). In Azerbaijani decorative art, the dragon symbolizes positive energy and can also represent water sources in folk literature. In ancient Turkic mythology, dragons like “Büke,” “Evren,” “Kök-luu,” and “Abyrga” symbolize might and power. Some historical records even mention the “Dragon City” of the ancient Huns, while in Kipchak culture, the “Begsha” dragon represented the family hearth. Several pile and flat-woven carpets from the Safavid period also feature dragon motifs.