Igdir Main Carpet

Igdir Main Carpet
252 x 164 cm (8' 3" x 5' 5")
Turkmenistan, mid 19th century
Condition: very good, full pile, both ends partially slightly incomplete, one repair (ca. 8 x 10 cm) in the upper field, selvages rebound
Warp: wool, weft: wool, pile: wool

In 'Carpets of the Peoples of Central Asia (1970)', the tauk nuska göl is described by the renowned Soviet anthropologist of Central Asia V. G. Moshkova as being of great age and the heraldic motif of the Arabatchi tribe. It also used by the I?d?r and Qaradashli groups and other tribes of the wider Yomut family. But the drawing of the göl tends to be quite consistent across all of the groups, with the only variations being in the articulation in the centre.
In this carpet the two-headed quadrupeds look away from each other, whereas on nearly all other examples their glance is turned inwards; the secondary chemche gül is not an uncommon motif in these carpets.
What distinguishes this carpet from most others is the weaving quality seen in the beautifully balanced proportion of the field and the clarity of the colours.
It is interesting to note that the leaf border was not the first choice: at the lower end of the vertical borders, we see that the weaver started with the so-called boat border and then changed, and that between the curled leaves is in most cases a broken line rather than the more usual scrolling vine.

Estimate: € 12000 - 18000