Kaitag textiles

An early 19th century Kaitag textile

Kaitag textiles are an unusual embroidered textile art form from the Kaytagsky District of southeast Dagestan, Russia, inhabited mainly by Dargins and Kumyks. Kaitag textiles are of simple construction, being laid and couched silk-floss embroidery on a cotton ground. The designs are often in the style of classical Safavid Persian art, sometimes illustrating horsemen and hunting scenes. Abstract Kaitag designs have been compared to those of Matisse and Paul Klee, though it is unlikely that either artist ever saw a Kaitag textile. Surviving examples are mostly from the 17th and 18th centuries. These embroideries were apparently made for local use in weddings, funerals, and for cradle trappings.^[1] The traditional Kaitag art of embroidery was reportedly stamped out under Soviet rule.

See also[]

• Suzani

References[]

• Textile Gallery (London), 1996, Textile Art of the Caucasus, exhibit catalog, privately printed. Primary source.

Further reading[]

Kaitag: Textile Art from Daghestan, by Robert Chenciner, 1993, Textile & Art Publications, London. ISBN 978-1-898406-00-6. Review

External links[]

• Gallery of Kaitag textiles
• Kaitag Embroideries, Textile Art from Daghestan, 2007 museum exhibit
• Daghestan's Kaitag Embroideries -- and Henri Matisse?

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