Art

Art

Ancient Azerbaijani carpets kept in private collection in U.S. presented to Azerbaijan

18 June 2013 11:35 (UTC +04:00)

Delivering a speech, Head of the Cultural Policy Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan, Fikret Babayev said that the return of Azerbaijani carpets is a significant event: “I express my gratitude to Grover Shilts and his wife Beverly Shilts for gracefully preserving and presenting the carpets to Azerbaijan. I am sure that historical carpets of Azerbaijan are being kept in many parts of the world and we will take steps to return them home as well."

Following this, Babayev presented Culture and Tourism Minister Abulfaz Garayev’s letter of thanks to the collector’s wife Beverly Shilts.

Delivering a speech at the presentation ceremony, Director of the State Museum of Azerbaijani Carpet and People's Applied Art named after Latif Karimov, Roya Tagizadeh said that the carpets would occupy an important place in the exposition of the museum: “As you know, Azerbaijani ancient carpets are kept in foreign museums along with historical artifacts. We are carrying out promotion basing on the President’s order “On the protection and development of the art of Azerbaijani carpet” and as a result of this promotion, these two ancient Azerbaijani carpets are already in our museum. The main objective of the decree is to get back the Azerbaijani carpets, we are doing our best for this. These are dragon-motif carpets, this motif plays an important role in the mythology of Azerbaijani art. 70 percent of the Azerbaijanis carpets have been enriched with this motif.”

Beverly Shilts, who presented the carpets to the museum, said she is pleased to be in Azerbaijan and deliver the carpets to the motherland. “I am pleased to be in Azerbaijan and present the ancient carpets from my husband’s collection to your country. These carpets were brought by my husband in Azerbaijan in 1960. There are about 200 carpets in my husband’s collection and all of them are carpets belonging to the Caucasian nations,” she said.

15 representatives from foreign countries, including chairman of the Oriental Carpets Academic Committee of Italy Alberto Boravelli also attended the presentation ceremony. Alberto Boravelli said it is praiseworthy that the carpets are presented to Azerbaijan. “In my lectures and seminars in Europe and America I will recommend the collectors to present the carpets they have to the countries which they belong to,” he said.

“Dragon and horse” by Koos de Jong was presented to the museum.

At the end of the presentation ceremony the guests viewed the exhibition opened at the carpet museum.