Dare I say another Ensi?

[Joe Lawrence Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Lawrence]

I’ve had a few Ensi posts and here is yet another. Hopefully I am not boring the masses with too many similar posts.

I am posting this due to its uniqueness of still having partial tie-downs on the top edges and the sides and bottom are intact. I’m not going to estimate the age other than saying “more than likely, last qtr of the 19c. If there are any Ensi experts out there, please chime in. Guesses are also encouraged.
I think it’s a wonderful piece and I am lucky to be the current steward of it. The color pallet is very interesting with very small amounts of yellow and blue among the other prominent colors seen. There may also be a hint of green although I am unsure at this point.

Tribe: Ersari
Type: Engsi/Ensi/Hatchli/Pardah
Age: 19c
Size: 186 x 130cm without the bottom fringe measured.

The most unusual thing for me is what I believe is an export seal covered in fabric and stapled on the rug. I have seen export seals before but this is new to me.

Joe Lawrence

[PaulSmith Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PaulSmith]

Hi Joe,

I have seen a lot of stapled fabric tags on rugs. I always remove them, myself.

I agree with your attribution, and yeah, I see some very nice green there in your second photo. I am a fool for green in Turkmen and Baluchis. But... I am thrown by the color difference I see, particularly in the red ground color, between the front and back. The back shows a classic late-19th-c. Ersari brick red, but it appears to have faded to light brown on the front. Same with the apricot. The elem seems oddly dull in color, and that makes me wonder if the blues/green are similarly different front-to-back. Closeups and a shot of the back would help show the condition, but it doesn't seem to be either synthetic dyes or sun fading--I wonder if this piece has been chemically treated.

The practice seems bizarre to me, but apparently, 100 years ago, Americans liked oriental rugs, but were put off by the strong colors (? I cannot imagine this response, but...), so dealers would treat the front of the rug to mellow the colors. I don't know if this was done in Europe or elsewhere... Maybe others could weigh in on whether this piece went through such a process.

Paul

[Joe Lawrence Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Lawrence]

Thank you for your thoughts Paul. I too was thrown by the color difference from front to back. I can only guess this is years of dirt and/or smoke. It doesn’t smell like smoke but it could have been years ago. I will take it to be cleaned on Monday and it takes about 2 weeks to get it back. I’m hoping it improves it.

[Joe Lawrence Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Lawrence]

This is my other Ersari Ensi with a similar shade just not as dark. This is at the rug cleaners and should be ready tomorrow. I do not have a pic of the back.

[PaulSmith Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PaulSmith]

This does look to me (not an expert opinion) to be the result of chemical treatment, which tends to hit the reds more than the blues. But wow! Look at the colors on the back! That light blue (which does come out on the front)! Those reds were fabulous, which is why I cannot imagine them fading like that unless they had help.

[Joe Lawrence Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Lawrence]

Well, it may be displayed with the back showing.

[Joe Lawrence Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Lawrence]

Paul, a little update on the Ensi. I took it to my rug guy today. I trust his word and he has been around for a long time and at one time, even worked for J. Opie.

Concerning the fading, he believes it’s one of two things. In his opinion it’s either from the sun, or washing it with hard soaps prior to 1940 when they switched the ingredients in soaps. Apparently the older washing soaps were extremely harsh and would fade rugs. Never knew that until today.

I would like to fantasize that it was faded from the sun from hanging for years on a Yurt but in reality, you just never know. I do question the Ensi as a permanent fixture exposed to all the elements and bugs. I wonder if it was used on the door for decorative purposes such as a wedding or celebration and then taken indoors. It just seems the Ensi would rot with extensive outdoor use. Just my thoughts of course.

I get the Ensi back in a week or so and I’m very curious how it cleans up. I will post a pic upon its return.

[PaulSmith Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PaulSmith]

Well, appeal-to-authority notwithstanding, I don't know where your rug guy got his "hard soaps prior to 1940," (who is "they" and what exactly did "they" change in the ingredients of soaps c. 1940?) but washing rugs has been done for centuries with mild soaps with little consequence. It is most likely that "hard soaps prior to 1940" = chemical treatment, which IMO is the only way you'd get evenly-faded color like that. I'm mainly commenting to see if we can bump this topic up in the queue, and we can get some responses from others on this fading issue.

[Joe Lawrence Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Lawrence]

Not sure Paul, just repeating what I was told. The rug guy has been around awhile and has been to most of the “stan “ countries studying rugs, dyes, wool etc.

[Steve Price Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Steve Price]

Well, appeal-to-authority notwithstanding, I don't know where your rug guy got his "hard soaps prior to 1940," (who is "they" and what exactly did "they" change in the ingredients of soaps c. 1940?) but washing rugs has been done for centuries with mild soaps with little consequence. It is most likely that "hard soaps prior to 1940" = chemical treatment, which IMO is the only way you'd get evenly-faded color like that. I'm mainly commenting to see if we can bump this topic up in the queue, and we can get some responses from others on this fading issue.

Hi Paul

I agree. That palette is most likely a result of a chemical wash of the surface.

Steve Price

PS: Phil - Experienced dealers often know a lot about rugs. But it's not unusual for much of it to be marketplace lore. This is true of many rug books as well.