Another Shahsavan myth or What is the Talish rosette

Here is another Shahsavan myth. The so-called Talish rosette believed to be created by the Shahsavan.

What is the Talish rosette? Basically it’s two interlocking eternity symbols that form a cross in its negative space.

This rosette can be traced back to the pagan Ancient Romans and was then used extensively in ancient Anatolia by the Byzantines and the Armenians who modified it to accommodate a lobbed cross within it.

The Armenians then started putting it on everything from Medieval manuscripts and Khachkars to Caucasian and Anatolian rugs.

So the design evolution was west to east and its origin has nothing to do with the Talish, the Shahsavan nor Central Asia.

Rosette computer illustration courtesy of Alex Damla Rug Design Services.

by Arto Tavukciyan