Very small highly knotted rug

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

Here is an unusual piece I’ve had for some time. I never really took a hard look at it since I considered it as a tourist piece. After looking at it today, I may have changed my opinion. The knot count is very high which confuses me. I’m not sure where this was made but I can probably be safe guessing Afghanistan or Pakistan.

Here are the details;

Wool on Cotton
26 x 18.75 inches
66 x 48 cm
KSPI 220
KSPD 3410
Colors: Red, light red, blue, white. No sign of fading.
Age: 1970’s to 1980’s?

It’s so finely woven I had a hard time counting the knots. Why would a weaver work so hard on a small piece if intended for tourist?

There is some old moth damage as can be seen in the picture.

Does anyone have any idea about this size and type of rug?

[Chuck Wagner Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Chuck Wagner]

Hi Joe,

The style of kilim end and the small multi-triangle motif along each end strongly suggest Turkmenistan, maybe Ashkhabad or Merv, or, alternatively, far northwest Afghanistan maybe near Herat or Bala Murghab/Marucharq. All the motifs are traditional Turkmen with the exception of the diamond minor border which is often seen on Afghan work. I haven't personally seen in on late Turkmen work but it's possible. The white cotton warps fit with those locales as well. Mats like these are often made by the wives of men making the pilgrimage to Mecca, where they are sold for some extra cash. Also, they are sold into the tourist trade in the local rug markets. I think 1960s-1980s is as good as guess as any. A fine weave suggests early rather than late in that window, but that's just my opinion. I've seen very fine work (Khoja Roshnai rugs) coming out of Afghanistan up into the 1980's. A photo of the back with a ruler or scale would be nice to see.

Regards
Chuck

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

Thank you for that information Chuck. Here is a pic although it’s a lower count than I counted yesterday. I did have difficulty counting as the 8 or so counts I did were all different. I took the highest number although it’s not consistent.

The count in the picture is 18x11 which equals a KPSI of 198 or a KPSD of 3069.

[Erik Persson Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Erik Persson]

This item reminds me a little of the Afghani "telephone rugs" sold in the 90s. As they were well suited as gifts, I used to buy them in a rug shop in Stockholm not far from the main railway station, when I was there on business and had some time to kill before the journey home. Here is an example (approx. 40 x 25 cm):



These were cheap, small and of low quality, but still quite attractive, I think. Here is a close-up of the reverse of the above rug.

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

Eric, that is an interesting small textile that appears to have a high knot count for such a small piece.

I did find a picture of a similar example of the piece I posted located in James Opie’s Tribal Rug book (fig. 17.4) The picture was from 1973 of “newer” pieces hanging outside of a rug store. This helps confirm a suspicion of the era these were produced.

[Chuck Wagner Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Chuck Wagner]

Joe,

Here's an example from Afghanistan, the area around Marucharq, that is described in George O'Bannon's book on Turkoman rugs. He was seeing them on the markets in the 1970's and considered the overall design to be a modern creation. Observe the diamond and multi-triangle border motifs I mentioned above. These are not common traditional Turkmen ornaments. But in new, post WW II work, all bets are off with respect to tradition. This one is on a wool foundation and has fully depressed warps.

Regards
Chuck

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

Thanks for the info Chuck.

[Guest Close Guest]

Mr Lawrence, where exactly did you buy the 1" sqr magnifier you show above when measuring the knots? I have found many online with linear graduations but none with both imperial and metric numerals. Thanks.

[Chuck Wagner Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Chuck Wagner]

Greetings, mystery Guest

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Regards
Chuck Wagner