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Chodor Rugs: 17th C. Mangyshlak(?) Chodor Chuval 17th C. Gallery-Arabesque

JBOC Attribution: Oriental Rugs > Turkmen Rugs > Chodor Rugs

Galerie Arabesque and Michael Craycraft

http://www.Gallery-Arabesque.com

Mangyshlak(?) Chodor chuval PRICE $ 7,500.00 (USD)

Size: 125cm(H) x 79cm(W) / 4'1"(H) x 2'7"(W)
Region: Central Asia ? Turkmen ? Chodor
Item Type: Rugs and Carpets ? Bags and Trappings ? Chuval
Materials: wool with camel wefts
Structure / Technique: pile, asymmetric knot open right
Condition: Good
Comments On Condition
Near complete with folded and sewn top, pile is good but uneven, two or three very small moth tracks, some of the very top is missing, a few small urine dribbles in the elem and three very, very small holes.
Full Description
This is a speculators' dream. It is either an exceptional 19th century Caspian Chodor or it is 17th century Mangyshlak Chodor. If I still have it this October it will be submitted for carbon dating. For the moment it is being offered for $7,500. If it carbon dates to 17th century or earlier the value will quadruple.
There are a number of reasons why it should be 19th century. Primary among these is that most Turkoman weavings are from this era. Secondarily, at a glance it looks pretty much like a normal (19th century) Turkoman weaving. Certainly there are Caspian Yomuds with a similar palette, the gul is drawn like a normal Chodor gul, the borders and secondary gul are familiar or at least known. So why look any further? Well, because some of us are Turkomaniacs. Looking deeper is second nature.
Upon closer inspection a numbers of details are found to be atypical. First the secondary sarkhalka border. It's just not like the other girls. Compare it with other Chodor or Saryk versions; it just doesn't match. This particular rendition appears to be unique. We know the main border to be both common and archaic. Afterall, it is common to the Afshar and they haven't been much of a presence in central Asia since the Seljuk movements. It is typical for 19th century Chodor and Yomut work. But once again, upon close inspection we find that this articulation to be very different. The horizontal aspects look elongated and squashed, late even, but when one reads the reciprocal (white) aspect the border takes on a whole new meaning. The vertical versions of this border are textured or 'spotted ' like the bodies of dragons and other mythical beasts in early carpets. If we read the figurative design to be birds or phoenix then perhaps we might attempt to extrapolate the textured reciprocal into dragons. Not too far fetched. The gul itself is very good but it certainly doesn't vary much from other early 19th century nine gul Chodor chuvals except in one category; color. The others don't come in this palette. Indeed the colors are very unusual for Chodor work and quite exceptional for any Turkoman tribe. Finally, the structure. The warps are on one plane, not depressed, like the few examples that we know to be Mangyshlak. The knot count appears to be a bit high for Chodor work also.
Certainly not a completely convincing argument but one does wonder as to exactly what is the explaination for this unusual chuval. Sooner or later it will have to be submitted to science.