Here is an example of Shirvan Caucasian Prayer Rug that was originally hand-knotted around 1870 and fully restored by Shehady’s Oriental Rugs.
Antique rugs woven in the Shirvan district are the most finely knotted and sophisticated antique carpets of the Caucasus region.
Unfortunately Shirvan Caucasian rugs of this caliber stopped being produced near the beginning of the 20th century. After the Trans-Caucasian railway was completed in the 1870s, a huge demand from Europe grew for these rugs. With an increased demand the designs became simplified symmetrical losing much of the secondary motifs that gave Caucasian rugs their unique charm and individualism.