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Antique Kizil Ajak Rug

Antique Kizil Ajak Rug

Size: 3 foot 8 inch by 6 foot 7 inch

This is an Antique Kizil Ajak Rug. Let me explain how I came to that attribution since this one is not as obviously Kizil Ajak as some rugs I have handled. The knot is an asymmetrical knot open to the right with a ribbed back. That with a knot count of under 130 (8 by 7) says Ersari Turkmen group. Then to go past a simple Ersari attribution we need to go to design. The field element is a turreted gul so the person I bought this from marked it Saryk. On a structural basis we must reject that especially since field elements rarely tell us anything. So we go to borders. Here we see an important identifier the white dot border is not common in Afghan Turkmen but this rug has two variations of the white dot minor borders and both of them are seen in Kizil Ajak rugs. As a side note this rug has the Badam Gulli gul minor border which say to me it must be from south of the Amu Darya. So at that point I asked are there any other clues to attribution that I could see. It was at that point I noticed the use of a good clear color fast yellow in the rug. So on the basis of these points the rug became obviously Kizil Ajak.

Atrribution: Kizil Ajak versus Ersari

The Kizil Ajak were a sub or component tribe of the Ersari. I have been working on a theory for several years about the Ersari and where they fit into the Turkmen Hierarchy. With the help of a friend I have finally come to the conclusion that Ersari and Azeri are different spellings of the same world. That as such the Ersari is the direct political heirs of the Oghuz Turks or that actually the Ersari are the Oghuz or Azeri as I have theorized. The Turkomen who came out of Central Asia into Persia and the Ottoman Empire were Oghuz and now their descendents speak a dialect of Northern or Southern Azeribaijani.

Kizil Ajak Rug. Turkestan or Afghanistan, Circa 1900. Inventory # 564, Size: 3 foot 8 inch by 6 foot 7 inch

Structure: Asymmetrical knot open to the right. 8 knots per horizontal inch and 7 knots per vertical inch. 56 per square inch (868 per square decimeter)

Yarn Spin: Z.

Warp: 2 ply hair.

Weft: 2 shot brown hair.

Pile: 2 cotton singles.

Ends: Incomplete, Flat weave Folded (top), stabilized warp (bottom).

Selvages: 2 weft units wrapped with brown wool.

Handle: Medium handle.

Further Notes: Good condition and the selvages need to be rewrapped in places. A small note about the dyes - all the dyes look natural there is a good clear yellow and piece much older than this use a yellow that looks the same. I have seen it noted that Uzbek cultivated weld which is a natural good yellow and I assume that Kizil Ajak had weld or something very similar.

The white dot boarders and the use of yellow points to an attribution of Kizil Ajak. The guard border with the small botehs are a prime identifier of rugs from Afghanistan.

For Further Reading:

Guide to Rugs & Books

La Miniature En Orient

JBOC's Notes on the Bible

Southwest Asia Time Line

Thanks and best wishes,

J. Barry O'Connell Jr.