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In my bottom-feeding rug collection habit, occasionally I come upon something that is pretty unusual, and I think this Tekke torba is such a special example. If you find something standard out there, it's not that difficult to pull out the books and dig around on the internet, and determine what you have, but in this case, the more I have gotten into it, the more unusual this piece seems to be. I understand that we have no real time line of verified examples before the end of the 19th century, except for the carbon-dated items from the early 18th century and before. Nevertheless, as I've looked for analogues to this torba, it is pretty clear that, while we do lack that verified progression of dated examples, dealers and experts do seem to have a consensus on dating for the most part, placing items into mid-19th c. and before dates. One peculiarity of this example is its pristine condition, which led me to assume that it was later than it apparently is, but as near as I can tell, I think this is early 19th-c./c.1800, based on colors/drawing/patina/material. Of course, I am open to any and all opinions. I am not an expert, just someone trying to figure this stuff out.
From the back...
The first thing that struck me about this piece is the unusual number of colors. While there is no silk/cotton (that I have found yet), there are about twelve distinct colors--the wine red ground, the blood-red elem, apricot, a pale pink, and a smoky rose--the last two are used like special materials in gul quarters in the middle row. There are four blues--dark surmey, a very electric mid-blue, a light blue, and a teal that was probably greener a century or two ago. There's pale yellow, ivory, and brown. Here are some closeups showing some of these colors...
Here is a shot of the pale yellow, smoky rose, and pale pink wool from the back...
The effect of all these colors is to make the piece sparkle. Digging through the books, I found a match to the interesting drawing of the border in Hoffmeister, example #53, dated "first half 19th century or earlier." (p.68)
It was harder to find an example with the shift in the ground color seen here, though I found a couple. The one thing that I have not found in another example is the shifting proportion/drawing of the main gul from bottom to top... In my example, the bottom row of guls has some little doodads in the ivory and apricot corners, the next row up is a little smaller, and smaller doodads, and the top row is smaller yet, minus the doodads. I have pointed out this sort of phenomenon in other old Turkmen before, and that it seems like an obviously intentional design choice on the part of the weaver. A three-dimensional effect? An attempt to create a sense of movement in the design? I don't pretend to know, but it is very common in really old Turkmen, and very carefully executed in this example.
The knotting is very fine, about 30v x 12h or c.360 kpsi. I am curious whether anyone has access to images/examples that are comparable, or any insights into this piece, as I have exhausted all of my resources. Cheers, Paul
From the back...
The first thing that struck me about this piece is the unusual number of colors. While there is no silk/cotton (that I have found yet), there are about twelve distinct colors--the wine red ground, the blood-red elem, apricot, a pale pink, and a smoky rose--the last two are used like special materials in gul quarters in the middle row. There are four blues--dark surmey, a very electric mid-blue, a light blue, and a teal that was probably greener a century or two ago. There's pale yellow, ivory, and brown. Here are some closeups showing some of these colors...
Here is a shot of the pale yellow, smoky rose, and pale pink wool from the back...
The effect of all these colors is to make the piece sparkle. Digging through the books, I found a match to the interesting drawing of the border in Hoffmeister, example #53, dated "first half 19th century or earlier." (p.68)
It was harder to find an example with the shift in the ground color seen here, though I found a couple. The one thing that I have not found in another example is the shifting proportion/drawing of the main gul from bottom to top... In my example, the bottom row of guls has some little doodads in the ivory and apricot corners, the next row up is a little smaller, and smaller doodads, and the top row is smaller yet, minus the doodads. I have pointed out this sort of phenomenon in other old Turkmen before, and that it seems like an obviously intentional design choice on the part of the weaver. A three-dimensional effect? An attempt to create a sense of movement in the design? I don't pretend to know, but it is very common in really old Turkmen, and very carefully executed in this example.
The knotting is very fine, about 30v x 12h or c.360 kpsi. I am curious whether anyone has access to images/examples that are comparable, or any insights into this piece, as I have exhausted all of my resources. Cheers, Paul
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