The Salon du Tapis d'Orient is a moderated discussion group in the manner of the 19th century salon devoted to oriental rugs and textiles and all aspects of their appreciation. Please include your full name and e-mail address in your posting.
by R. John Howe
Page 3
Rug 21 is a complete khorjin set with horizontal bands that Blackmon described as "Ersari-like." As Blackmon read this photo-essay he added,"… I consider the Ersari groups as very confusing and in need of clarification - a can of worm - like these other non-Turkmen Central Asian groups."
The knot is asymmetric open to the left and there are two picks of wefts between knots.
Rug 22 is flatwoven, brocaded bag.
The back of this piece is not like what one tends to find on Turkmen pieces and the wool is exceptional.
Rug 23 is an Uzbek saddle bag face with a boteh design.
The design is upside down in relationship to the weaving of the piece (that is the pile points "up").
There are a number of these attractive, white ground pieces known.
Piece 24 was, Blackmon said, a puzzling one. Is it a khorjin face? A fragment?
This piece has a very distinctive weave. The colors and the design are great. If you look closely you will see that the elements in the central "band" are in fact botehs shaped like diamonds. The knots are fine and small. Image 25 is the back of Piece 24.
Rug 26 features a design with crosses in octagons.
It may be Uzbek. It was made in four strips. It has a fine weave and is insect-dyed.
Blackmon described Rug 27 as an Uzbek rug, with a lattice of latch hook guls.
There is some corrosive brown in the center of this piece. The border is from Khotan. Jim feels that this
piece is very grand - impressive , like an early Anatolian kilim in scale and impact.
Rug 28 was the final piece in Jim Blackmon's presentation. It is another piece published in the O'Bannon translation
and supplementing of Altipina. It appears there as Plate 61 on page 103. Blackmon commented on its fully depressed
warp (90 degrees), its kejebe design and its exceptional color. O'Bannon describes it as a chavadan
and says that its directional design shows that it was to was meant to be viewed horizontally as a chavadan
would be when used at the bottom of the juk. This is the time to reference what we said as we looked at
Rug 7 and at image 7a about both the chavadan format and its function in the juk.
I want to use Mr. Blackmon's fine presentation here as a basis for our Salon discussion for the next two
weeks. Here are some suggestions for making our posts and discussion understandable and enjoyable.
All the images in this salon have numbers on them that you can see on your screen. They are on small yellow squares,
one located somewhere at the edge of each image. Please cite the specific number(s) of the images and pieces to
which you are referring in your posts and replies.
Regards,
R. John Howe
Selected Bibliography
Commentary by James Blackmon, 2140 Bush St. #1, San Francisco , CA 94115, 415 922 1859, email: jwb111@pacbell.net
Bogolyubov, A. A. and Thompson, J., (ed.) "Carpets of Central Asia," Fishguard, UK: Crosby Press, 1973.
(A translation with Thompson's comments of Bogolyubov's book published in 1908.)
O'Bannon, George. W. and Amanova, Ovadan K. (eds.), "The Kyrgyz Carpet I," Two Articles by Klaudia I.
Antipina. Tucson, AZ: George O'Bannon, 2000.
O'Bannon, George W. and Amanova, Ovadan K. (eds.), "The Kyrgyz Carpet II," Ludmila G. Beresneva, The
Kyrgyz Carpet Collection, State Museum of Oriental Art, Moscow. Tucson, AZ: George O'Bannon, 2000.
O'Bannon, George W. and Amanova-Olsen, Ovadan K. (eds.), "Carpets of the People of Central Asia," Tucson,
AZ: George W. O'Bannoon, 1996.
O'Bannon, George W. "Kazakh and Uzbek Rugs from Afghanistan," Pittsburgh: George W. O'Bannon, 1979.
Additional bibliographic notes without detailed citations:
Murray Eiland and his son have spoken briefly about non-Turkmen Central Asian rugs in their most recent edition
of Eiland's "Oriental Carpets: A Comprehensive Guide," as have Eiland and Robert Pinner in their catalog
on the Wiedersperg Collection. Elena Tzareva has also treated non-Turkmen Central Asian rugs in her books, for
example "Rugs and Carpets of Central Asia." Others can point out noteworthy items I have missed.