Antique Carpets and Rugs. Turkestan.
Antique Carpets and Rugs. Turkestan.
Western Turkestan is a loosely defined area bordered by Iran and the Caspian Sea to the West, Afghanistan to the South, and China to the East. The region is inhabited by the Turkomans (Turkic peoples), whose tribal structure has historically always been complex and shifting. Mane of the tribal groups under this heading changed over the years as alliances were formed, broken, and re-formed. The main tribal subdivisions within this group are the Tekke, the Yomut, the Salor, the Ersari, the Beshir, the Saryk, and the Belouch. Their weaving tradition dates back centuries, but most examples found today can be confidently dated only to the 18th century or later. Western Turkestan came under the control of the Russian empire in the late I 9th century, and later of the Soviet Union. Russian domination gradually eroded the tribal structures and consequently tribal weavings became more stereotyped and commercialized, and less highly collectable.
TURKOMAN WEAVINGS
Turkoman weavings, as a group, are easy to recognize, but to identify the exact tribal subdivision can prove difficult. Based on nomadic traditions, their woven products included rugs and functional artifacts of daily life such as torba (long, narrow bags), juval (deeper bags), and trappings. Large carpets (more than 3.5m/ 12ft long) are seldom seen. Most pieces have a limited colour scheme – usually Turkoman weavings have the same ground and border colour. The background colour is usually red in all its shades, ranging from a very bright terracotta through burgundy to brown or aubergine. The designs, in dark brown, white, and blue, with occasional yellow, crimson, and green, are abstract and geometric in form, following the typical nomadic custom, and are woven from memory with patterns passed down through the generations. Wool is used for foundation and pile.
Prior to any commercialization the Turkomans used their weavings to decorate their circular tents, known as 6y; the motifs they wove identified the tribe. As in certain Ottoman designs, the primary motif is the gul, a geometric, highly stylized floral motif, and its shape
is (or was originally) the distinctive signature of the tribe – its symbol or emblem. The gul is used in repeated parallel rows in the main field design, which is framed by a complementary border. Difficulties of exact tribal attribution can arise, as gul motifs were copied from neighbouring tribes, or, during times of conflict, motifs were stolen and adapted by the victorious group.
By the end of the 19th century, commercialization along with increasing demand from Western markets led to the emergence of a more stereotyped style. The Tekke gul proved especially popular, and as a result other tribal groups abandoned their own gul to use that of the Tekke instead. By the end of the 19th century, although commercial production was a success, the individual weaving traditions of the tribes had virtually died out.
THE TRIBES
The Tekke were the most powerful tribe in western Turkestan during the 19th century until they were defeated in 1881 by the Russian army. They were prolific weavers, their products ranging from main carpets to functional functional pieces. Their carpets are among the most copied in Pakistan and Afghanistan today. Tekke carpets are often incorrectly called “Bokhara” carpets, while the famous Tekke gul is sometimes incorrectly described as the “elephant’s foot” gul after its shape. Tekke carpets often display a characteristic grid of black horizontal and vertical lines joining the guls. Weavings made prior to the end of the 19th century are extremely collectable and of high quality.
The Yomut were also prolific weavers. It is sometimes difficult to identify a Yomut piece, since the tribe used a great variety of designs, but various shades of brown and aubergine for the grounds, and bright reds, yellows, Hue, and ivory for pattern details arc typical. Yomut guls often have hooked edges and may be arranged in diagonals. Like the Tekke, the Yomut are famous for pertain artifacts, such as asmalyk (came] trappings).
The Salor, a notorious warring tribe, were heavily defeated by the Persians in 1831, and later by the Tckke in a land struggle in 1859. The tribe then effectively disintegrated and members were swallowed into larger groups such as the Ersari. Their large, rounded gul containing a trefoil motif (known as a or “flower”, gul) was subsequently adopted by the Tekke and the Saryk, but was used by these tribes in greater density, giving the pattern an overcrowded appearance.
In contrast to the finely woven work of the neighbouring Tekke and Yomut, the weaving of the Ersari is crude and loose. The Ersari are closely associated with the Beshir, and both were prolific weaving groups until the late 19th century. A typical Ersari design uses the gulli gul repeated in tightly packed rows. Borders of stepped medallions arc also common. Ersari carpets are often labelled as Afghan, mainly because the Turkoman plains of northern Afghanistan formed part of the tribe’s territory. Their designs, particularly the large gul format, were also imitated by later Afghan mass production.
The Saryk were one of the least prolific weaving groups in Turkestan: pieces identifiable to them arc rare, and sought after by collectors. Unusually for Turkoman work, Saryk carpets use the Turkish (symmetrical) knot. They also use several different guls, similar to those of the Tekke and the Salor. Most typical is a large octagonal old with 24 facets, often containing cross-shaped motifs; large and small guls may alternate in rows.
The Belouch (now the Baluchi) inhabit an isolated region straddling the Afghan-Iranian border. Their work is distinctive and original, making use of wonderfully soft natural camel wool. Prayer-rugs are one of their most highly regarded formats, while the tree — often a stylized tree of life — is one of their most typical motifs.
MAIN TRIBES the Tekke, the Yomut, the Salor, the Ersari, the Beshir, the Saryk, and the Belouch
• TYPES rugs, carpets, and artifacts such as bags and animal trappingsWEAVE
• wool pile on its wool foundation is typical
• COLORS the field is usually characterized by extremely distinctive shades of red and brown; Turkoman weavings typically have the same colour around and border; decorative motifs are atypically in dark blue or ivory
• DESIGNS these are almost exclusively geometric in form and are based upon motifs of flora and fauna; repeat designs of the gul or flower-head arc usually featured in the field
• COLLECTING examples are subdivided into tribal groups and arc usually identified by the shape and style of the primary gul motif; pieces made before 1900 are sought after by collectors; later pieces lack the individuality and subtlety of colour of early pieces and tend to be more coarsely woven
• BEWARE pieces from western Turkestan are often erroneously classified as “Bokhara” weavings after the exporting town in the region; however, no rugs were ever made in Bokhara; collectors should beware that designs are often copied in Pakistan using considerably inferior colours and materials to the originals