Jim Blackmon has invited a discussion of the aesthetics of these non-Turkmen Central Asian weavings.

In this thread, I like to collect your indications of which of these pieces appeal to you (or the ones that do not) together with some description of what you think is the basis for your like or dislike.

Regards,

R. John Howe

There is a lot to like.

#8 has a very lively design that reminds me of three busy traffic circles, with the chevrons giving movement to the design.

#19 surprised me. I thought it was a small 3x5 size weaving. Until I looked at # 20, with a woman turning it over to show the back. The thing is HUGE! The weaver had a big yurt, I guess.
There are so many weavings that it will take a while to digest them all. Most give the appearance of being "rustic", unlike the formal geometricity of many "refined" Turkmen weavings, such as the major groups like the Tekke main carpets and rigidly ritualized ensis.
I suspect that the previous unavailability of these types of weavings has led to a dearth of information about them.

Patrick Weiler

I like them all, but if I could choose just one I would prefer nr. 11

Beautiful design and colors! I would like to explain why but that is sometimes so difficult, it just 'speaks' to me.
One of the other pieces was related to ikat designs. Also in this one I feel some ikat-design influence. Maybe because of the use of the bleu/yellow color (the light bleu not often used in ikats but the way it is used ), or the way the designs are 'surrounded' by small designs on a white base (I have seen small boteh designs on a white base round a central
designs in ikats).
A piece to dream of!
Ludwina

The second category of carpets are carpets I like for their 'easy' appeal to the eye: a good example of this category would be number 19/20, in which -I think- the blue abrash and the pattern work together beautifully.
A beautiful collection.

Regards,

Patricia

My personal favorite is 27 (with the serrated polygons), followed very closely by 3 (botehs) with 28 (kejebe) being a close third. All three were displayed at Blackmon's gallery during ACOR in Burlingame. It was good seeing them again.

27 and 3 are monumental, probably both woven for some important or wealthy person.

27 has marvelous composition and color alternation in addition to what seems to be outstanding and uniform execution. I especially enjoy the relationship between the field elements and the patterns created by their negative spaces. The contrast in scale between the field and the border is very expressive.

The boteh piece (3) is better in the flesh that one can tell from the internet images. Like nearly all the objects shown in the session, this one is also well drawn. Its precision and width, like that of 27, might indicate some kind of supervised weaving. We can see the hands of a master at work.

On the other hand, 28 is a small and rather delicate piece with deeply saturated colors and a velvet-like texture. Only a handful of these have appeared on the market.

Wendel