Kaitag textiles are an unusual

embroidered Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...

textile art form from the

Kaytagsky District __NOTOC__ Kaytagsky District (russian: Кайта́гский райо́н; Dargwa: ; kum, Хайдакълы якъ, ''Xaydaqlı yaq'') is an administrativeLaw #16 and municipalLaw #6 district (raion), one of the forty-one in the Republic of ...

of southeast

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...

, Russia, inhabited mainly by Dargins and

Kumyks , image = Abdul-Wahab son of Mustafa — a prominent Kumyk architect of the 19th century. , population = near 600,000 , region1 = , pop1 = 503,060 , ref1 = , region2 = , pop2 ...

. Kaitag textiles are of simple construction, being laid and couched

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

floss Free and open-source software (FOSS) is a term used to refer to groups of software consisting of both free software and open-source software where anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change the software in any way, and the source ...

embroidery on a

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

ground. The designs are often in the style of classical

Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

Persian art, sometimes illustrating horsemen and hunting scenes. Abstract Kaitag designs have been compared to those of

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

and

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

, 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.Daghestan's Kaitag Embroideries
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References

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

External links

2007 museum exhibit

Textile arts of Russia Needlework Embroidery Dagestan {{textile-arts-stub

References

Further reading

External links