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Salor
Chuval
Turkmen, 19th century
Sotheby's Olympia, Fine Rugs and Carpets Including Islamic Textiles
Lot 30
Estimate: £12,000-16,000
Lot 30, a Salor chuval (2) from the first half 19th century is an
excellent example of an early Salor turret-gul chuval. The knot is
asymmetric open left. The square shape of the turret guls suggests an
early age. The knot ration is V/H cm 6/6, which is a balanced weave.
Earlier pieces tend to be taller than they are wide while later pieces
flatten out and are wider then they are tall.
Sotheby's compares this to the Arthur D. Jenkins chuval (Mackie
& Dr. Jon Thompson,
plate 8). The Mackie
& Thompson turret gul chuval has guls that are
slightly taller than they are wide and the knot ratio is 15 H 17 V to
the inch. The gul spacing in the Mackie & Thompson piece is
also slightly more generous suggesting that lot on offer may be a
little later than the Jenkins chuval. The guls in the Sotheby's Olympia
piece are very similar in proportions and execution to the gul in the
Thompson sale Salor tent bag (chuval) (SNY 12/16/93, lot 60). Both this
bag and the Thompson sale chuval have the small intersticial white
diamonds bifurcating the turrets. It is interesting to note that the
offered lot lacks the interior small intersticial white diamonds
bifurcating the turrets while the Thompson sale chuval has them on the
interior and exterior turrets. The Arthur D. Jenkins chuval lacks them
entirely.
Consider as well the more elaborate minor guls. The offered piece has a
rams horn device on the dark squares of the minor gul, which is
altogether entirely lacking in the other two discussed. It suggests to
me that, while the Jenkins chuval is a wonderful old piece, this chuval
may have had the more sophisticated weaver. The alem skirt is similar
to that of the Thompson
sale Salor
Tent Bag.
From www.Sotheby.com
Sotheby's Auctions » Fine Rugs
& Carpets including Islamic Textiles » lot 30
Sale W02871
THE PROPERTY OF AN EUROPEAN COLLECTOR
W - A Salor
chuval, Central Turkestan, first half 19th century
London, Olympia 12,000—16,000 GBP Session 1
11 Jun 02 2:00 PM
Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 16,450 GBP
MEASUREMENTS
143 by 84cm.,4ft. 8in. by 2ft. 9in.
DESCRIPTION
This lot contains 1 item(s).
Technical Analysis:
-
Warp: Wool, ivory, Z2S
-
Weft: 1. wool, ivory, Z2S; 2.
wool, ivory with a few dark brown hairs, Z2S; 3. wool, dark brown, Z2S;
4. wool, dark brown, dyed red, in a small area of the lower part of the
chuval
-
Pile: Wool, Z2, Z3, Z4; silk:
Z3, Z2
-
V/Hcm: 6/6
-
Sidecords: Wool, 3 warps
overcast in madder-red
-
Ends: Upper end- magenta and
ivory kilim hemmed and sewn
-
Lower end- ivory kilim, hemmed
and sewn
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Colours: Dark madder-red, light
madder-red, aubergine, magenta, light magenta, ivory, yellow, dark
indigo, medium indigo, light indigo, sea-green, charcoal, walnut,
purple
The Salor were one of the most
powerful of the Turkmen tribes. They remained an independent people
until around the middle of the 19th century, when they were taken over
by the Saryk and Tekke. For a historical discussion of the Salor see
Tzareva, E, Salor Carpets, Hali, Vol.6, No.2, pp.126-133.
It is the early examples of Salor weaving, prior to the appropriation
by the Saryk and Tekke, which are considered to be amongst the most
skilfully woven and beautiful of all Turkoman rugs. The Salor chuval
offered here has all the typical qualities associated with early
production. Technically, it has characteristic ivory warps and brown
wefts. It has asymmetric knots open to the left and uses a lustrous
wool with delicate touches of silk highlights, limited to the leaves of
the lower partial guls. It has been painstakingly crafted and has a
perfectly balanced design. Both the wonderfully crisp drawing and the
rich colouring add to its timeless beauty.
For a very similar example, however, with a different elem design,
please refer to Mackie,
Louise W. and Thompson, Jon, Turkmen: Tribal Carpets and Traditions,
Washington, D.C., 1980, p.72, pl.8. For other comparable
examples please see Loges, W, Turkoman Tribal Rugs, Munich, 1980, p.47,
pl.23; Phillips, London, 6 October 1992, lot 4 and Sotheby's, New York,
17 September 1992, lot 67.
Published:
Hali, Issue 77, p.158.
Exhibited:
Hans Elmby Antique Oriental Carpets, Antique Turkmen Carpets II, 9-15
October 1994, Copenhagen, Denmark, p.10, pl.15.
For Further Reading:
Guide
To Turkish Prayer Rugs
Thanks and best wishes,
J. Barry O'Connell Jr.
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