Turkmen rug

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2010)

The Teke design Turkmen carpet. This pattern is often referred to as the "Bukhara" print design.

A Turkmen rug (or Turkmen carpet) is a type of hand-made floor-covering textile traditionally originating in Central Asia (especially in Turkmenistan and Afghanistan). It is useful to distinguish between the original Turkmen tribal rugs and the rugs produced in large numbers for export mainly in Pakistan and Iran today. The original Turkmen rugs were produced by the Turkmen 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, Ersari, Saryk, Salor, and Tekke. Until the 1910s in these rugs vegetable dyes and other natural dyes were used to produce the rich colors. Since then, synthetic dyes have also been used.^[1] The rugs produced in large numbers for export in Pakistan and Iran 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 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, which preserves examples of the original Turkmen tribal rugs, is located in Ashgabat.^[2]

"Bukhara rug"

"Bukhara rug" (Uzbek: Bukhoro)—also spelled "Bokhara"—is a term widely, though erroneously, used in the West to refer to carpets and rugs made by various Turkmen tribes of Central Asia, such as Tekke and Ersari rugs. During the early 1900s, the name of Bukhara, a city in Uzbekistan, 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. 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.

Rugs at Tolkuchka Bazaar

Rugs at Tolkuchka Bazaar

See also

Turkmen Ersari main carpet, mid-19th century, "elephant foot's" design

Bokhara suzani, circa 1800

• Yomut carpet
• Suzani
• Tush kyiz

References

External links

• Detailed article on Turkmen rugs
• Background on origin of Turkmen Rugs