VERN RUG

handmade Caucasian pileless floor covering on which the designs are executed in Soumak brocading upon a foundation weave that appears between the motifs. Usually the field design consists of rectangular panels upon which appear attenuated forms of animals and peacocks or angular winged plants. Similar creations fill the wide border, and if guard stripes appear, they are very narrow. In other examples the panels may contain a row of conventionalized leaves or rectilinear split arabesques. The name Vern is also often applied to a series of Anatolian brocaded rugs the panels of which contain diamonds, delicate latticework, or other varied geometric forms. Caucasian Verns are normally all wool, except for white cotton accents. Many Anatolian pieces make use of cotton for whites. Few of these rugs predate the 19th century.