This charming little Turkmen wedding-rug was made by a young Teke bride during the second half of the nineteenth century.
The young bride would have made a small rug, as finely knotted as she was able, for her and her future husband to stand on at the wedding ceremony and take their marriage vows.
Wedding-rugs were highly-prized possessions and never intended for sale. Sadly, as the tribes entered the tweentieth century, money might have been scarce and it woulkd have been required to sell their best weavings.
Also, with the Russian advance into Turkmenistan at the end of the 19th century and the massacre of Teke tribes at Merv, many rugs were plundered and eventually sold in the Russian markets. This might have been one of them!
In very good condition, the rug has a madder-red ground and depicting three columns of seven small Teke guls or tribal crests. Particularly attractive are the ''elems'' or skirts at each end and complete.
Size: 1.07m x 1.01m (3'' 6'' x 3'' 4'').
...
Viewing by appointment only.
Internal Reference: BM2112
Antique ID Number (AIDN): SA1134766
Dateline of this antique is 1870
Height is 107cm (42.1inches)Width is 101cm (39.8inches)Depth is 0cm (0.0inches)
Thank you.
Your comment has been sent to Sellingantiques.