Tribal Rugs From Afghanistan and Turkestan
Few of the rugs one comes across are ‘pure’ to their type. In a mixture composed of the characteristics of two or more tribes, some will be fairly meticulous copies, whose true origins can only be detected by carefully studying and analyzing their colour, dyes, wool and make-up. The earlier rugs were purer in design, owing to the life of the people at that time. Prior to the annexation of the Caucasus in 1878, inter-marriage was not common among the tribes, and motifs of tribe were included or adopted by another only when one had been subjugated, or the two had joined forces.
Another result of the Russian conquest of Turkestan was due to their policy of cutting-off the tribes and isolating them. This meant that they were unable to trade with countries that supplied their natural dyes (Persia and India). The new Russian railway was being built from the Caspian Sea through to Tashkent and Andishan, bringing the new aniline dyes. This explains why aniline dyes were used on even the best wools and the finest carpets at the turn of the century.
Afghanistan and Turkestan
These areas were steppes inhabited for the most part by nomadic tribes. Cities grew up round the oases such as Bokhara, Merv, Khiva, and on the borders of these built up areas lived semi-nomadic people who raised sheep and collected fuel to barter. The tribes met and mingled in the market places of the oases, but out of town they were independent and kept themselves very much to themselves.
There is an old tradition among carpet people that Herat was the ancient centre for weaving, and indeed archaeologists are now beginning to find many things which point towards more than a little basis of truth to the belief. Herat has been named as one of the possible places of origin for the Pazyryk carpet of 500 B.C. In addition, there is a large Assyrian marble slab, carved to represent a carpet, brought from an entrance in the Ashurbanipal Palace at Nineveh. This stone is contemporary to the Pazyryk carpet, although they were found several thousand miles apart.
Recent political policies which have had strong effects on the weaving of the tribes in these areas.
(a) The annexation of Caucasus in 1878 caused many Turkmen tribes to move closer together out of Russian reach, whereas previously they had led lives fairly separated and independent of each other. After this date, intermarriage became more common and tribal influences began to cross over more and more.
(b) With the 1917 revolution, came the annexation of Turkestan. The Russians formed a trading company called Argus, through which all rugs had to be traded. Tribes who objected to this regimentation fled across the border to Iran and started weaving in the Khorasan area around Mashhad. This gave rise to the ‘Persian Bokhara’. Many also fled to Afghanistan’s northern cities and Herat. Hence the Afghan Bokhara.
(c) The new Russian trading company, Argus, found it was difficult to sell tribal rugs, but easy to sell rugs which were reputed to have come out of the palaces. The public’s innate snobbery saw and heard what it wanted to, and perfectly ordinary, good tribal rugs pompously re-entitled Princess Bokhara, and Royal Bokhara, sold in large numbers. These ridiculous and inaccurate terms have now also been applied to some Pakistani rugs, and adopted by many undiscerning and ignorant dealers.
CHADOR from Sheberghan by Kizil Ayak (Qezel Ayeq). circa 1880
ERSARI from Shor Tepa. circa 1890
Weaving in a Turkman Nomadic Village
Weaving is done in the dry season, and the loom is placed where the hearth would normally be. It may take several summers tow eave a fine rug, and so these are all prized very highly. The rugs, carpet and prayer rugs are normally rolled up and placed above the ground, only taken down for prayer, weddings and other special occasions such as the visit of an honoured guest. In this way, rugs are handled down from generation to generation, and only begin to be mistreated when they fall into the hands of a traveler, or city dweller, who does not appreciate the time, work and skill which has gone into the making.
Similarly, the aq-yüp, the white marriage band , was only on a wedding tent, and a great deal of time and effort went into its making. Fine bands have not in fact been made at all for the past 70 years, so we can date any Turkman aq-yüp as prior to 1900. Earlier than this it is impossible to say with any great accuracy. The aq-yüp was placed with the design facing inwards, so that its pattern could be seen through the trellis frame of the tent. The beauty and detail of his tent bands indicated the degree of a man’s wealth. A different set of tent bands was used in winter and in summer.
The tent was also decorated with pendants, tassels, embroidered bands inside the roof dome, and so on. The felts were decorated with scroll-patterns, The doorway might be covered with a felt flap, with wooden doors or a prayer carpet called ‘ensi’ (hatchlie), which had the field divided into four. This was sometimes for weddings hung pile outwards over the felt or wooden door. The rug was also considered in ancient times to be the first type garden carpet, representing the four gardens of paradise.
Inside the doorway, also for weddings tents or special occasions, there might be a qapi gulluk, an architrave made in a similar way to the aq-yüp, with fine pile design on a white wool flat-woven ground or full pile.
Within the tent, everything and every job has its own place. There are various bags for different purposes (storing clothes, kitchen utensils, spindles, wool etc) each hung in its own place, and each with its own name. Kilims are used to cover the bedding during the daytime, and normally several felts cover the floor.
There is more than one type of tent, but the work of erecting and taking down the structure is done by the women, in a never varying system which is the most economical of time and effort.
YAMUT Saddle Cover Kilim. circa 1880
TEKE. circa 1780
Age of Kilims and Rugs
The finest rugs were made for personal use, not for selling, and they would only be sold under the following conditions: -
(a) that somebody in a family wove a finer rug, and they decided that its predecessor could now be sold
(b) the family fell upon hard times
(c) the family left the nomadic life and went to live in a village or town.
Rugs are aged by age of material, quality of wool related to its dyes, the weave, and purity of design. In this way it is easy to date back to about 80 years. Earlier than this, only years of experience, handling literally thousands of rugs, can give one any sound basis for dating a rug. The more one learns, the more cautious one becomes, because one has had to accept so many exceptions to so many rules. When a rug or kilim in a nomadic community does eventually become very worn, it is cut up and used for other purposes, for example padding a saddle, because such a community does not tolerate unnecessary wastage.
Afghan Designs
Mowri
Origin: Merv by the Teke Turkmen tribes north of the Oxus. Field covered by lines of small medallions called ‘gul’, flower, interspersed with smaller figures called flying eagles. The fine cross lines may or may not be present.
Mowri Herat
Field design same as that from Merv. End border design is always the same.
Salor Saroq
Origin: Pendi, north of the Oxus River between Merv and Herat. Field covered by series of ‘gul’ which differ significantly from those in the Mowri. Borders also differ. Quality equals Mowri.
Tagan Sheberghan
A version of the Dawlatabad design.
Dali Mazar-i-Sharif
‘Gul’ divided into four sections containing stylized ‘badam’, almonds, arranged in groups of six or eight to form a motif known as ‘gushwara’, earrings. the ‘changal’ is always found between the ‘gul’. One of the side borders always consists of ‘gul-i-badam’, almond flowers, a border frequently found on all types of Afghan carpets.
Sulaiman and Khoi
Similar to the Dali except that a group of four flowers or the ‘badam gushwara’ motif is used instead of the ‘changal’.
Kazan Mazar-i-Sharif
‘Gul’ with sections of trefoils surrounding a centre with the ‘changal’.
Kizil Ayak
there are five types of Kizil Ayak. One uses the ‘gul’ with a broken outline containing a stylized tree.
Lab-i-jar Sheberghan
‘Gul’ similar to the Saroq. Field surrounded by border using white lines. End borders similar to Mowri but uses white.
Chobash Pendi
‘Gul’ containing a circle of stylized animals.
Waziri Sheberghan
This design was especially created about thirty years ago for a minister, ‘wazir’, who had tired of the traditional designs. It had since been copied extensively.
Chahrchango Sheberghan
Predominant design the ‘charag’ or ancient lamp. This motif is found in the ‘gul’, in the centre and around the sides of the field.
