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Carpet Museum
RUAZENHE
Азербайджанский музей ковра — здание в форме свёрнутого ковра
Baku · Seaside Boulevard—The world’s first carpet museum

Carpet MuseumA carpet-shaped building on the Caspian shore, where the soul of Azerbaijani ornament comes alive

The Azerbaijan Carpet Museum holds thousands of carpets and carpet works — and its very building is unrolled like a giant carpet on the boulevard.

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About the museum

For Azerbaijan, the carpet is a language spoken across centuries.

The Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum is the world’s first museum devoted entirely to the carpet. Founded in 1967, in 2014 it moved into a new building on Baku’s Seaside Boulevard — shaped like a rolled carpet.

It gathers thousands of carpets, kilims, embroideries, metalwork and ceramics — a whole chronicle of Azerbaijani decorative art.

Azerbaijani carpet weaving is inscribed on UNESCO’s list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This museum is its main home.

In brief

The museum in a few knots

1967the museum was founded
2014the new carpet-shaped building
7schools of Azerbaijani carpet
2010carpet weaving on the UNESCO list
Здание музея в форме свёрнутого ковраCarpet-building

Architecture

A carpet unrolled on the boulevard

The museum building, opened in 2014, is designed in the shape of a rolled carpet. Its “roll” rises above the seafront, turning the architecture itself into an exhibit.

It is one of Baku’s most recognisable silhouettes — a museum that looks like what it keeps.

About the building →

The art

Knot by knot

The Azerbaijani carpet is woven by hand, knot by knot, from memory and from patterns passed down through generations. Pile and flat-woven (kilim, sumakh, palas) — each has its own technique.

Ornament is not decoration but a language: göl medallions, the buta, animals and plants all carry meaning. In 2010 this art was recognised as UNESCO heritage.

Art of the carpet →

“A carpet is a book read with bare feet and sharp eyes.”

The halls of the Carpet Museum
Карабахский ковёрSeven schools

Geography

Seven schools of one art

Azerbaijani carpet weaving is divided into seven regional schools: Baku, Quba, Shirvan, Ganja, Gazakh, Karabakh and Tabriz. Each has its own patterns, colours and recognisable hand.

This geography of patterns is a whole map of the country, woven from wool and silk.

Carpet schools →

Экспозиция музея ковраExhibition

Collection

Thousands of stories in thread

The museum’s holdings include carpets of many centuries, as well as embroidery, national dress, jewellery, ceramics and metalwork. Many exhibits were rescued and restored.

The modern display is arranged to show the carpet both as art and as part of everyday life.

Collection & visiting →

Sections

Explore further

01

Building

The rolled-carpet architecture on the boulevard.

Read more → 02

Art of the carpet

Technique, ornament and the language of the carpet.

Read more → 03

Schools

The seven regional schools of weaving.

Read more → 04

Collection

The exhibition and how to visit the museum.

Read more →

Questions & answers

The Carpet Museum in brief

What is the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum?
The Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum is the world’s first museum devoted entirely to the carpet. Founded in Baku in 1967, it holds thousands of carpets and works of decorative and applied art.
Why does the building look like a carpet?
The modern museum building (2014) is designed in the shape of a rolled carpet. The form echoes the museum’s main exhibit and has made the building one of Baku’s symbols.
Where is the museum?
The museum stands on Baku’s Seaside Boulevard, by the Caspian Sea, next to the park and the city centre.
How many schools of Azerbaijani carpet are there?
Azerbaijani carpet weaving is traditionally divided into seven schools: Baku, Quba, Shirvan, Ganja, Gazakh, Karabakh and Tabriz.
Is the Azerbaijani carpet recognised by UNESCO?
Yes. In 2010 the traditional art of Azerbaijani carpet weaving was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
What can you see in the museum?
The museum displays pile and flat-woven carpets of various centuries and schools, as well as embroidery, national dress, jewellery, ceramics and metalwork.