Very little is known about carpet production in the non-Asiatic areas of Russia, the Ukraine and Moldova before the 19th century which makes it difficult to ascribe carpets with certainty to specific workshops. Generally, and erroneously, the term "Bessarabian" denotes flatweaves and "Ukrainian" is used to describe pile examples, such as this carpet.
The Imperial Tapestry Factory was established in 1716 in the vicinity of St. Petersburg by Peter the Great (reigned 1682-1725) and produced tapestries as well as flat-woven and knotted pile carpets for the court. Weavers from the Gobelins manufactory in Paris, trained Russian workers reflected in both the techniques and French taste, that a preference in the decorative arts during the reign of Peter the Great and his successors through the 19th century.
In addition, several estate workshops were set up by wealthy landowners, to produce carpets and other furnishings; these were mainly in the province of Moscow but also in Kursk, Vornonezh, Tambov and Nizhni Novgorod. Unfortunately, there is little documentation and not much has been written about the various rich weaving traditions from this area (please see Sherrill, Sarah B., Carpets and Rugs of Europe and America, Abbeville Press, 1995, pp. 280-289 for further discussion of Russian and related carpet weaving industries).
Many Ukrainian carpets from this period share a general design conceit of a dark brown field with an allover floral repeat pattern. In this example, scrolling leaves are interspersed with large cabbage roses similar to examples that have sold at auction: Sotheby’s, New York, 2 December 2008, lot 304 and Christie's, New York, 18 December 2002, lot 191.
Although we may never know exactly where it was woven, this carpet exemplifies the technical and artistic achievement of Ukrainian pile weavings.