Turkmen rug
Encyclopedia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
(especially in Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
). It is useful to distinguish between the original Turkmen tribal rugs and the rugs produced in large numbers for export mainly in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
today. The original Turkmen rugs were produced by theTurkmen
Turkmen people
The Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and northeastern Iran. They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages family together with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Qashqai,...
tribes, for various purposes, including tent rugs, door hangings and bags of various sizes. They were made entirely from wool, with geometrical designs that varied from tribe to tribe. Most famous are the Yomut
Yomut carpet
The Yomut carpet is a type of Turkmen rug traditionally handwoven by the Yomut or Yomud, one of the major tribes of Turkmenistan. A Yomut design, along with designs of the four other major tribes, such as Ersari and Tekke, is featured on the coat of arms and the flag of Turkmenistan.-See...
, Ersari
Ersari
Ersari - one of the major tribes of Turkmen people of Central Asia, and one of the five major tribes of the country of Turkmenistan. They live mainly in Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan...
, Saryk, Salor, and Tekke. Until the 1910's in these rugs vegetable dyes and other natural dye
Natural dye
Natural dyes are dyes or colorants derived from plants, invertebrates, or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources – roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood — and other organic sources such as fungi and lichens....
s were used to produce the rich colors. Since then, synthetic dyes were also used. The rugs produced in large numbers for export in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and sold under the name of Turkmen rugs are mostly made of synthetic colors, with cotton warps and wefts and wool pile. They have little in common with the original Turkmen tribal rugs. In these export rugs, various patterns and colors are used, but the most typical is that of the Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
design, which derives from the Tekke main carpet, often with a red or tan background (picture). Another favorite is derived from the Ersari main carpet, with the octagonal elephant's foot design. The Turkmen Carpet Museum
Turkmen Carpet Museum
The Turkmen Carpet Museum or the National Carpet Museum is a national museum, situated on 5 Gorogly Street in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. It opened on 24 October 1994. It has the largest collection of Turkmen carpets of any museum....
, which preserves examples of the original Turkmen tribal rugs, is located in Ashgabat.
"Bukhara rug"
"Bukhara rug" — also spelled "Bokhara" — is a term widely, though erroneously, used in the West to refer to carpets and rugs made by various TurkmenTurkmen people
The Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and northeastern Iran. They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages family together with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Qashqai,...
tribes of Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, such as Tekke and Ersari
Ersari
Ersari - one of the major tribes of Turkmen people of Central Asia, and one of the five major tribes of the country of Turkmenistan. They live mainly in Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan...
rugs. During the early 1900s, the name of Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
, a city in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, was applied to these rugs. In fact, few Turkmen live in or around Bukhara, which has a population made up principally of Tajiks and Uzbeks
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
. The city did serve as a transit point for some Turkmen rugs on their way to the West (especially those of the Ersari tribe). The city of Bukhara is well-known for its production of the embroidered Tajik textiles known as suzanis
Suzani textile
Suzani is a type of embroidered and decorative tribal textile made in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries. Suzani is from the Persian سوزن Suzan which means needle...
.
See also
- Yomut carpetYomut carpetThe Yomut carpet is a type of Turkmen rug traditionally handwoven by the Yomut or Yomud, one of the major tribes of Turkmenistan. A Yomut design, along with designs of the four other major tribes, such as Ersari and Tekke, is featured on the coat of arms and the flag of Turkmenistan.-See...
- SuzaniSuzaniSuzani may refer to:*Suzani, an embroidered tribal textile made in Central Asia..*Suzani, Shamseddin Taj-ul Shu'ara is the name of a 12th century Persian poet from Samarqand....
- Tush kyizTush kyizTush kyiz are large, elaborately embroidered wall hangings, traditionally made in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan by elder women to commemorate the marriage of a son or daughter.Colors and designs are chosen to symbolize Kyrgyz traditions and rural life...