What counts as a tribal rug?

Hand-knotted and flatwoven wool made by nomadic, semi-nomadic and village weavers, rather than in a commercial workshop. The weaving regions are Persia, the Caucasus, Anatolia, Central Asia and Afghanistan. The heading covers more than floor coverings. Storage bags, tent trappings, animal covers, eating cloths and prayer rugs all sit under it.

How old are these rugs usually?

The dated field spans 1750 to 1960, and the weight of it falls between 1880 and 1930. The 1900s are the single biggest decade, followed by the 1880s and 1920s. Only a small number are dated to the 1850s or 1860s, and nothing in the samples goes past the 1940s. A further group carries the label '19th Century' rather than a year.

Why do so many titles say design?

'Design' appears in 339 titles, nearly a fifth of them, which makes it the main descriptor in this category. Dealers name the pattern before they name a measurement or a colour. Herati, Mina Khani, boteh, Memling gul, tree of life, mihrab and ikat all turn up as named designs.

Are tribal bags collected separately from rugs?

They are a branch in their own right. 72 titles say 'bag', 68 say 'face', 48 'torba' and 43 'chuval'. The sampled forms run well beyond storage: salt bags, vanity bags, spindle bags, okbash, tubreh, wheat sacks and gapylyk. Whether a bag keeps its back, tassels or its pair changes where it sits in the range.

Do tribal rugs carry woven dates?

Rarely. A handful of sampled titles cite one, including '1326' read as 1908, '1288' read as 1871, an inscribed 1892 and a 1921. Everything else is estimated, which is why decades on tribal rugs are given as circa.

What Central Asian pieces turn up here?

Turkmen weaving is about a fifth of the category, with Tekke, Ersari and Yomut the recurring groups, plus ensi door rugs, asmalyks and tent bands. Uzbek work appears in 51 titles and is the one place where embroidery rather than weaving carries the piece: Lakai dowry hangings, silk-on-cotton suzani and silk ikat panels.

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Antique Tribal Rugs

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Wool rugs, bags and flatweaves made by nomadic and village weavers across Persia, the Caucasus, Anatolia and Central Asia, woven on portable looms for the weavers' own floors, tents and animals rather than for the workshop export trade.