What do I have here?

[RickF Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RickF]

Purchased this at an antique shop 30 + years ago. I know it’s a bag face.

13 in by 38.5 inches

[Guest Close Guest]

Hi Rick,

Looks like the face of a shallow tent bag or "torba" made by the Tekke Turkmen. The field design shows the so-called "aina gul" or a variant thereof. A very nice antique shop find!

Joseph R. Putnak

[Joe Lawrence Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Lawrence]

The pics are hard to see. A close up of the main field and borders would be helpful and with a close up of the back to show the knots. And yes it’s a bag face “Torba” missing the back and lower tassels that went along the complete bottom.

[Joe Lawrence Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Lawrence]

A close up is needed because although it’s blurry, it appears to have an Esari border.

[Steve Price Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Steve Price]

A close up is needed because although it’s blurry, it appears to have an Esari border.

Hi Joe

I agree that the motifs and design look Ersari, but the palette doesn't. Some Saryk pieces from the late 19th century have a similar palette. If it has symmetric knots, my best guess would be Saryk, ca. 1900.

Steve Price

[Guest Close Guest]

Hi all;

For reference, here are links to detail images of two pieces attributed to the Tekke Turkmen by experienced dealers/auction house experts. As far as I can tell, neither piece is currently for sale. Both pieces were dated to the late 19^th century. The first shows the field design of a small rug with one version of the aina gul, which is similar to that on the torba under discussion. The second shows the border of a Tekke torba. Although this piece exhibits another version of the aina gul, the main border does appear to be similar to that on the piece under discussion - a closeup picture of the border on the latter is needed to be sure. That said, I agree that the coloration of the piece under discussion is not typical for Tekke material. However, an Ersari relationship in terms of design has me confused; I just don't see it here. But perhaps there was more copying of designs/less adherence to tribal tradition in later (say after 1880) Turkmen material.

Obviously, I'm certainly not an expert on Turkmen rugs or any other kind of rugs for that matter, just trying to understand the thinking here.

Joseph

https://i.postimg.cc/XJnwtmYN/Tekke-...ant-detail.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/y6QFrfqv/tekke-...der-detail.jpg

[Steve Price Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Steve Price]

Hi Joseph

The first one is neither Tekke nor woven any earlier than WW-II. Please don't mention the dealer who had it - being that far off in attribution doesn't speak well of his/her expertise.

Incidentally, if you register I can have your posts bypass the moderator queue. If you do, don't put any more information than your name and email address. We don't share information with anyone, but the snoopers can often defeat our efforts.

Thanks,

Steve Price

[Guest Close Guest]

Hi Steve,

Thank you for correcting the misattribution. In fact, I just found another torba with the same field design as Rick's. This one had a running vine minor border seen mainly on Ersari/Eastern Turkmen pieces. No tribal attribution was suggested, only Turkmen, circa 1900.

I will plan to register to make any future posting easier.

Best wishes,

Joseph Putnak