Oriental Rugs Dictionary
Cemetery rug
Cemetery rugs are a type of tribal rug design featuring motifs that resemble gravestones or memorial forms.
These designs are believed to symbolize remembrance or spiritual themes and are commonly found in some Caucasian and Central Asian tribal carpets. The stylized motifs may appear as vertical shapes arranged across the field of the rug.
The name refers to the resemblance of these motifs to grave markers rather than to their actual use.
Cemetery rugs are traditionally woven by all members of the family. In the home of the deceased, his body is with a cemetery rug, called Mazarlik in Turkish. In areas that wood is a rare commodity, and coffins are difficult to be made, the corps is carried to the grave on a carpet of this type. These rugs are generally handled down from generation to generation, but a small number is sold. Each Cemetery Rug contains three symbolic motifs often repeated several times:
- The prayer-niche signifying piety.
- The willow as a sign of mourning
- Cypress tree symbolizing immortality.
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