Virgin
Artist
Faig Ahmed
(Azerbaijani, born 1982)
CultureAzerbaijani
Date2017
MediumHandmade woolen carpet
Dimensions100 × 70 in. (254 × 177.8 cm)
PortfolioEdition 3 of 3
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number2017.24
Collections
Not on view
Label TextFaig Ahmed
Azerbaijani, b. 1982
Virgin, 2016
Handmade woolen carpet
Patterns and ornaments can be found in all cultures, sometimes similar, sometimes very different. I consider them words and phrases that can be read and translated to a language we understand.
—Faig Ahmed
Virgin references several ideas about the creation and history of carpets in the artist’s country of Azerbaijan. Here, the carpet seems unfinished; only one-third shows the elaborate pattern and border, while the rest of the work is loose thread. Ahmed develops the designs from the patterns and shapes of computer imagery, and then local weavers produce the textile in the centuries-old, traditional manner, using sheep’s wool that has been dyed in vibrant colors. The title alludes to the material—sheep’s wool—as well as a finished carpet being part of a dowry, or bride price, that a chaste woman gave to her husband at marriage.
Museum purchase 2017.24
ProvenanceArtist to Sapar Contemporary Gallery; purchase by Chrysler Museum of Art, 2017.
19th century
