760. a statesmanlike antique Tekke Turkoman Carpet

760. Provenance: Tekke tribe, Turkoman family of tribes, Central Asia (Turkmenistan)

Age: Circa 1870

Size: 290 x 230 cm

Condition: Heavy wear and holes.

Notes: Ok, so the condition is poor, but still, what a beautiful piece! History is writ large accross this woven beauty. This one would have been woven at the time to the Tekke's suppremacy over the other Turkoman tribes (Salor, Sarukh etc). They in turn would soon be defeated and pushed back by the imperial orthodox Russians. True Turkoman weaving would then be restricted to Afghanistan. This main carpet uses all natural dyes, chief amongst which is the madder root. It has classic Tekke main guls, and Gurbaghe minor guls, fine ornate borders and two rather different ends/elims. The main guls themselves are of good height:width balance showing considerable age (these tended to 'flatten' out in more recent pieces. This is a stunning piece but may be best used on a table (under glass), in true medieval style!