708. a sensual old Kashgari Turkoman kilim

708. Provenance: Turkoman tribes, Kashgar region,  East Turkestan (now Western China)

Size: 283 x 130 cm

Age: Circa 1940

Condition: Very good.

Notes:  Similar to #707 but no quite so old. Such finely-woven kilims, using the softest and best quality hand-spun wool tend to the products of the Kashgari Turkomans in what is now far Western China. However, similar quality are also woven by Turkoman weavers in northern Afghanistan. Alistair Hull writes in his book 'Kilims': "The kilims woven (in the Kashgar region) are extremely fine, soft and light and can only really serve as covers, for which use they were originally intended. The compositions of these textiles are very similar in appearance to the Uzbek Tartari safid kilims from Sar-I-Paul and Samangan, although they can be distinguished by the quality of their wool and the tightness of their weave." This is just such a piece - supple and tactile to the touch, it could be folded into a hand-luggage.