Pambak Rugs
Pambak is a village in the Lori Region of Armenia. Lori is a province (marz) of Armenia. It is located in the north of the country, bordering Georgia. Vanadzor is the capital and largest city of the province. Other important towns include Stepanavan, Alaverdi, and Spitak. It is home to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Haghpat and Sanahin monasteries and the well-preserved Akhtala monastery, where Armenians, Georgians, and Greeks make an annual pilgrimage on September 20–21.
Pambak is a name given to a mount, a river and a village in the Lori region. The river originates in the Pambak Mountains and flows west to east through spectacular gorges around Bazum Mountains. It finally feeds into the Debed River near Dzoragyugh, which ultimately drains to the Kura River. The village have under 100 households. It was considered, ounce, an important rural area south of Tbilisi the
Georgian capital. These areas belong to an assumed weaving region called Kazak in which Pambak has its own unique design.
Technical aspects and the structure of Pambak Rugs
Antique Pambak rugs knotted with a density of about 64 knots per square inch. Knots are symmetrical (Turkish). Warps, wefts and piles are woolen. Area rug sizes are common. Square-shaped sizes could also be found.
Dyeing and painting of Pambak rugs
Red, blue, ivory, camel and green are dominant on Pambak palette. A typical Lori Pambak medallion is colored with green and ivory. The latter is used for octagon’s field (and the border), while the former used for the inner shape. The green could vary from olive to dark emerald and sea green. Fields are red in typical pieces.
Designs and patterns of the Pambak rugs
The medallion used is called Lori Pambak. It is a large octagonal medallion filled by two pairs of opposing calyxes, all joined at the base. Lori Pambak medallions could be found in other Kazak weaving centers as well as in eastern Anatolia.
Another design, with the same accent, attributed to Pambak is called “Frog kazak”, due to its total feature.
