CARPET MUSEUM OF AZERBAIJAN

The National Carpet Museum traces the history of this millennium art in Azerbaijan. It is divided into two large, each on one floor. But before entering this real Ali Baba cave, take the time to look outside the building. It was completed in 2014, after 6 years of work under the direction of the Austrian architect Franz Janz. To justify the abandonment of the beautiful historical buildings in which the entire UNESCO protected carpet collection was stored, it was necessary to strike strong, and that is what was done. In the heart of the seafront, whose development was satellized during the organization of the Euro 2012, the carpet museum extends, huge, evoking in its structure a carpet wrapped on itself, wisely posed between the Caspian and the Flame Towers.

Within the organization, there are three levels: Ticket box and souvenir shop on the ground floor (walk your way, carpets are three times more expensive than elsewhere), exhibition of carpets by geographic area and weaving techniques on the 1 st ^{floor and presentation of masterpieces and master's pieces to the second.}

The first part, therefore, presents in great light various achievements of Azerbaijan's carpet schools: school in Baku, Genje-Kazakh (including populated Georgian areas of Azéris), Karabakh school and Tabriz school (in current Iran). The journey is enameled with ancient photographs, documentaries and tools to capture the specificities of carpet weaving and the cultural importance of carpet in nomads' lives. The practice of weaving would go back to the fourth century before our age, as evidenced by the tools discovered in Gobustan. They were probably used to produce simple vegetable natures.

It took a huge amount of work to find all these things, because the carpet weaving responds to archaic know-how that was swept away by the Soviets and disappeared for almost a century. Today, ds workshops at Sheki, Gouba or Baku are trying to find these techniques of weaving, knocking, coloring, and the mute of the Carpet has the merit, whatever one thinks of its architecture, to pay a beautiful tribute.

Among the dozens of carpets exposed, you will learn to recognize, detail and read the motifs and their symbols. The oldest carpet dates from the seventeenth century, but most of the exhibits were woven in the early twentieth century.

On the top floor you can use your newly acquired knowledge to interpret the many master carpets exposed to close the exhibition. It can be seen very classic and sumptuous creations of Latif Karimov with brilliant colors or more surprising pieces such as those carpets dedicated to the glory of Soviet values, very popular in the 1970 s.

Two small spaces are devoted to children, to make them discover the universe of carpet through workshops, and on the other hand to temporary exhibitions.