Kharkiv kotses of the 19th — early 20th centuries: study of sample using the case study method

The article considers the problem of studying long-pile carpets (kotses), which Kharkiv was famous for as a center of their production in the second half of the 18th – mid-19th centuries. However, very few authentic examples of rugs of the mentioned period have survived to the present day. For example, in the Kharkiv Historical Museum named after M.F. Sumtsov there are only three of them. Due to the insufficient factual base, the study of the features of the Slobozhanskyi kots is complicated and requires innovative interactive approaches and technologies. The article presents for the first time an example of the application of the situational analysis method within the study of carpet weaving. The article describes the stages of conducting and the main elements of the case study method, which the author presents in the form of a table “Kharkiv kots” with further analysis of the components of the case. The use of the case study method in the research consists in carefully collecting the most complete information about little-known samples of Slobozhanskyi kots in available sources, and involves a detailed study of original samples in museum collections, photo samples in art albums, catalogs, collections, etc. Applying the method of situational analysis, the author of the article examines three original kotses from the collections of the Kharkiv Historical Museum named after M. F. Sumtsov and three photo samples of Slobozhanskyi kotses from the art albums of S. A. Taranushenko, and makes the assumption that the two kotses in the photo samples are exactly those woven by kots maker from Kholodnaya Gora (Kharkiv district) at the request of ethnologist V. O. Babenko for the XII Archaeological Congress, which was held in Kharkiv in 1902. In the field of carpet weaving, this method will contribute to the accumulation and updating of empirical material, which will help significantly expand the list of possible objects and introduce little-known carpet weaving works into scientific circulation.