Arabachy Chuval
Turkmen, 19th century
145 x 56cm (57in x 22in)
Sotheby's Olympia, Fine Rugs and Carpets Including
Islamic Textiles
Lot 27
Estimate: £1,500-2,000 Closing Bid 1,175 GBP
Published in Hans Elmby's Antikke Turkmenske
Taepper/Antique Turkmen Carpets II, 1994.
Courtesy Sotheby's London
"In fact,
maybe Arabatchi (sic) work is so hard to find because
it's so ugly - the Arabatchi (sic) in a fit of
embarrassment over the uniform ugliness of the wool and
the drawing and the color of their various chuvals and
torbas may have gathered them into heaps and set
them ablaze, hoping, like the villagers at the end of
Frankenstein, that through fire they had cleansed the
cosmos of ugliness and moral depravity. But no! . . .
Somehow, a few of their wretched artifacts escaped, and
like the monster rising from the rubble of the Baron's
castle, their ugliness has once again been loosed on the
world." Whither
Turkomania? by Lawrence Kearney
"The next major
development seems Moshkova-related and appeared in an
auction catalog from Lefevre and Partners in 1977. There
Thompson followed up his S-group breakthrough with
another new label and group. These rugs were attached to
an obscure tribe called the Arabatchi (sic), which had
been mentioned in passing by Bogolubov, and who were
described by Moshkova as using the tauk noshka gul on
their main carpets. Beginning with such a main carpet, of
a type not readily identifiable to another tribe,
Thompson demonstrated how other pieces, including a type
of engsi, were related on structural and color grounds.
The existence of the group seemed clear enough, although
not so firm as the S-group, but the Arabatchi label has
not been so firm. Moshkova's comments about the tribe are
not above reproach, as she contributed the highly dubious
suggestion that Arabatchi designs are ancestral to those
of other tribes.
With the Arabatchi (sic) in particular, the market
witnessed the full flowering of a phenomenon that had
been growing within the Turkoman boom. If a rug had a
special label, it suddenly became more desirable. For
some reason this soon became clear with the Arabatchi,
whose rugs had never attracted attention for their
beauty. It is no coincidence that news of their existence
was announced in an auction catalog.
In 1978 the Werner Loges book appeared, which did not
introduce novel material but seemed to ratify such new
material as the Arabatchi label. Turkomania seemed to
dominate the auction houses, and ever higher prices were
commanded by the new champion, the S-group." TURKOMANS AND
SCHOLARSHIP
"Plate 39. Ersari (Arabatchi? (sic)): (Ballard,
Metropolitan Museum of Art), Metropolitan Museum of Art
Mackie/Thompson, op. cit ., No. 47" The Rugs of
Amos Bateman Thacher
Structure Notes on the Arabatchi
Structure: Asymmetrical knot open left. 10 knots per
horizontal inch and 12 - 15 knots per vertical inch. 120
- 150 per square inch. Slight to moderate depression.
Sometimes symmetrical side knots.
Yarn Spin: Z.
Warp: 2 ply animal hair, light to medium brown.
Weft: 1 shot 2 ply (1 ply cotton and 1 ply wool),
brown and white barberpoled. Dr,
Murray Eiland Jr. in Oriental
Rugs A Complete Guide quotes Thompson in the A.A.
Bogolyubov, "Carpets of Central Asia: Basingstoke,
1975. as specifying 1 shot 2 ply cotton and 1 shot 2 ply
wool. I can not find my copy of Bogolyubov and I do not
know of a sample that conforms to that description.
Selvage: 2 cord attached. Aubergine wool in Mackie Pl.
55
Pile: 2 Wool or animal hair singles singles. Hair in
the Ballard Arabachy Mackie Pl. 54
Further Notes: Mackie Pl. 54 & 55 the dark brown
is natural undyed.
Special thanks to Seyitguly Batyrov for help with
teminology and spelling.
For Further Reading:
Thanks and best wishes,
J. Barry O'Connell Jr.
Visit Jozan.net
- Arabatchi
and OldCarpet.com
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