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My wife and I picked up a stray today along with a few friends. Here is an old Kind of hard to find older Ersari Ensi/Hatchli. Based on my limited research, it should be early 19th century. What a lucky find.
I apologize for being brusque, but it really is difficult to keep things straight when six things are being discussed at the same time. Ideally, several photos of the same piece are the best way for people to see enough to have a meaningful opinion.
Your ensi is almost certainly Ersari, and probably 19th century. I don't know what criteria would place it in the early 19th century. It's plausible, but so is any other date in that hundred year window. I should add that I'm pretty agnostic about date attributions and have been for a long time. If you're interested, visit our Archives and search for "date attributions".
This is a nice piece in good condition, congratulations! Yes, Ersari... I believe there is some debate about whether these things were actually woven by women who would call themselves "Ersari," but it's one of those conventions (like "Mushwani" rugs among Baluch-group weavers, which are almost certainly not woven by Mushwani people) where everyone knows what you mean.
I'm always up for a little discussion of dating. It's a bit of an inexact pseudoscience in which "what I like" often gets an earlier date, but it is not meaningless, either. I would say that your ensi appears to me to be from the late 19th century, maybe c.1900. Ersari work from the early 19th century had much more vibrant coloration--for example, the brick red ground color seen here is definitely a late 19th-early 20th c. feature, though it looks to me that all the color here is vegetal, so that puts it on the early side of that period. The (three?--nice!) blues point in that direction. I would be interested to see ensis like this that are given an earlier date than 1880. The patina here sure doesn't look early-19th-c., either.
I have an Ersari ensi, dated by people more expert than I to c.1890, with some similar features--it helps to have other examples to compare, I think.
To demonstrate the color issue I describe, I have a main carpet from a related group--the Chub Bash--that I think is from the first half of the 19th-century.
Paul and Steve, thank you for the kind comments and assistance!
Dating a rug without the proper and expensive methods is challenging…and also part of the fun. When I mentioned the early 19 century from my limited research, it was based on a very similar piece for sale in the UK that was advertised as such. I do believe it’s safe to say 19th century but further than that, it’s a guess based on what is either published or some type of dating process was done. Nonetheless, it always exciting to get a new piece and also to hear thought on it.
I am always honored to be a steward of Turkoman rugs.
Here is a pic of the similar rug I found that was listed as early 19c with a heavy price tag of 4500 £ or 5400 USD. Shocking prices I know.
I can see the connection, design-wise, with the example. Definitely a similar model--your comparison makes sense. We'll get in trouble discussing price here, but I would say that giving that other ensi an "early 19th-c." date is pretty suspect, IMHO. I would say that one is definitely 2nd-half 19th c. It does seem to have a pale yellow, which is an earlier-rather-than-later feature that I don't see in your example, but it might be there... (there's a pale yellow in my ensi, and a spectacular yellow you can see in that main carpet). I went out on the interwebs in search of earlier Ersari ensis that weren't for sale--this one came from the Jozan website, attributed to the mid-19th c., which I think demonstrates why I don't think your comparison example is from the early 19th c., especially considering the reds I see in this Jozan example. But hopefully more participants will dive in here on this thread.
Thanks Paul. I only listed the price on the example for sale because of how much it was listed for and in hind site, should have not mentioned it. . I guess dealers can list it for any price. Me personally, I don’t sell pieces and if someone says I have a piece that is worth a lot, I appreciate the info, make note of it and continue to enjoy it for what it is.
After closer inspection, I do see the fine details you speak of. I took mine into to a specialist in rugs that focuses on tribal and Turkoman rugs to have some small repairs to the sides done and to have it cleaned. While there, I did notice wear marks to indicate it had been possibly used as a door hanging which although is speculation, it still pleases me to see an item that was utilized in the culture and not just made to sell.
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