Hi Steve and All
Its interesting subject wether or not the Ensis were door covers, I suppose we will never know for sure. I have looked into to into from time to time, and personally I think they were, probably only for special occasions, not everyday use.
Moskova describes the function and format sizes of the Ensi and the Germech, describing the Germech to be less in width than the Ensi, fitting the width within the door frame. Personally I see no reason not to trust her in this, and the famous Prokudin-Gorsky photos support her description. Regarding sources on information on the function on almost
any Turkmen weaving type this is (unfortunately) as good as it gets. And isn't any other function of the Ensi kind of based on pure speculation? (not that I mind speculations, you know
)
Looking at the photo taken by Prokudin-Gorsky around 1900 and the proportions of door and rug showing a known rather square type of late Tekke Ensi which surely wouldn't have been able to cover the door to the ground. There is easily, if not necesarrely, space for a Germech below it.
(I have made the red fields a bit less square here to compensate for the perspective in the photo, but I suppose you get my point)
I only have one possible Germech with fringes in my photo archive, its size is 30 x 86 cm, less than two feet in hight including fringes. And a format like that would actually make sense at the Prokudin-Gorsky yurt door.
And Steve I am curious what other candidates for Germechs with fringes you have seen? They are often smaller in size than they appear in photos. When I remember I try to save all Germechs I see on the net, so I would be happy if you could post the ones with fringes you have seen, it is an interesting subject.
best
Martin