Rare Turkoman Tent Band. Circa 1880

Early Turkoman wide tent band in four lengths totalling 3.5 metres approx. Circa 1880.

Hand knotted numerous and complex geometric designs with silk highlights on plain cotton white warp-faced (plain-weave ground). The elaborate design is hand-knotted with high pile on ivory flat woven background. The woolen pile is truly sublime and the dyes to the hand-spun wool have been applied skillfully. Extremely finely woven and of highest quality. Rare and early survivor from the height of Karakalpak material culture, albeit in four sections.

Condition: Main band decorated sections (40 cm wide) in excellent condition. Edges at 50 cm width frayed and unevenly cut as shown in photos. The 2 longer pieces stiched together at mid-section, and minor holes in this region. Strong dye colours in reds, indigo-blues, terracotta, browns, and pink highlights. Superb.

Includes fout lengths from same tent band, totalling 3.5 metres approx:

Dimensions: Overall approx 50cm wide:

Four Lengths of: 116 cm; 115 cm; 60 cm; 58 cm.

* The Karakalpaks made a range of decorative tent bands to join, support and decorate the wooden frame of the yurt. The largest (and widest) was the qizil basqur, which constrained the base of the yurt roof. This was made from a mixture of natural goat hair and red sheep's wool. The smallest bands were the short lengths of dizbe, used to tie the qanats and other wooden components of the yurt together. In between were other bands, such as the ishki beldew, and the numerous qizil qur and aq qur, which together fasten the felt roof parts to the frame. The qizil qur holds down the front roof section while the aq qur hold down the rear roof section.

** The bands were decorated with a knotted pile that only partially covered the cotton ground of the tent band. The main colours used were brown, beige, and salmon pink, while secondary colours included black, blue, pistachio green, and golden yellow. In combination technique the knot cannot be tied across adjacent warps, as with a normal all-piled carpet. This is because the tight packing of the warps does not leave sufficient space for normal knotting. Instead the weaver uses just half of the available warps, forming the shed and then tying a knot on only the raised set of warps. The knot is therefore tied across a warp and its neighbour but one. This can only be done using a symmetric knot. After inserting the cotton weft the shed is changed and knots can be tied on the other set of warps. The two rows of knots are offset by one warp. In this technique the spare warps must float behind the knot, concealing its underneath from view. As a consequence, combination technique tent bands appear to have a plain cotton back.