A unique characteristic of Turkmen main carpets was the driving motivation of this survey, that is the astounding continuity of format and the impressive royal-like aspect of some of them. A compelling question has been tickling the mind ever since: do they reflect an early 'courtly' outcome?
During the way, a clue between them and a wider artistic horizon emerged. In fact, although apparently bond to the historical and geographical latitudes which they sourced from, some features seem to imply a link with a larger Turk-Islamic rug family spread westwards within the Mediterranean shores. Under this light, their unparallelled appearance even more displays its true charisma to which distinctive iconographic choices appear to have contributed.
We tried to seek their blueprints going as far back as possible. Yet, we did fix a limit, namely the discovery of a lost Golden Age arguably associated with their actual aspect.
Although was not a target of this work to linger on the millennial visual traditions preceding the arrival of Turk stock tribes in Central Asia, they were undoubtedly merged in such multiform environment. Acting as mid-region between the far distant Eurasian poles, Central Asia was, in fact, long used to cultural syncretism favouring the resilience and endurance of many diverse roots. It should not wonder that also far more ancient imageries could survive the ravage of Time surfacing in later periods and civilisations. The Turkmen visual language plausibly seems to be the result of a centuries long process, a millennium at least, where the original Turk heritage melted in a multifarious panorama.
TURKMEN MAIN CARPETS
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Turkmen (Saryk) main carpet, 19th
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Turkmen main carpets are a classic of Oriental rugs, yet, definitely a unicum. No other provenance in the 'rug belt', in fact, exhibits such continuity and uniqueness of layout, which only superficially matches a standard format in the rug repertoire, that is alternating major and minor devices. No other design has been ever recorded since at least the supposed to be earliest pieces, allegedly dated to the 15th-17th century by scientific tests. Consequently, the question arises about its possible origin as well significance. Since the earliest carpets appear to constitute a continuum with later pieces, the hypothesis of an older tradition is to be safely claimed, for a such mastered layout could not appear all of a sudden.
Does the classical equilibrium at times surfaced in their design embody the spirit of a Golden Age?
Did a Golden Age ever exist and when can it be placed? May unraveling it be of any importance to a fresh appreciation of these weavings?
These questions are the compass in the following journey through the Turkmen Latitudes.
As odd as the term Golden Age may seem for a 'tribal-nomadic' outcome, we do apply it for its common usage in the rug domain. It, in fact, refers to a historical period wherein a given culture enjoyed a political and artistic flourishing never repeated anew; a Classic Era responsible for an original notion of self-identity which was to create a distinctive lexicon.
In the reconnaissance of a Turkmen one, the only compass is indeed the surviving carpets, sole custodians of their secrets. Their designs, so-called guls, have received devoted scholarly attention conveyed by important literature. Yet, much is still to be deciphered, as Elena Tzareva pointed out coining for them an unparalleled term, 'Time Capsules'.
Indeed, the time encapsulated might prove to be longer than foreseen and trace back unexpected information. Unveiled iconographic choices may shed light also on the artistic milieu the Turkmen populations dealt with, submitting a further question: to which degree did they dialogue with the culture of the day and rever tradition likewise?
But, what was the situation of the knotting art in the area first housing the Turk tribes arriving from inner Mongolia, their supposed cradle?
But, what was the situation of the knotting art in the area first housing the Turk tribes arriving from inner Mongolia, their supposed cradle?
'Carpets and rugs are mentioned in 3rd to 4th century documents as given in payment or part-payment for a wide variety of wares, from women to camels. Finds of wooden weft beaters linked to pile making or tapestry weaving undoubtedly show that these types of textiles were produced in eastern Turkestan, today Singkiang. An analysis of some documents gives every reason to believe that carpets and rugs not only played an important part in the regional economy but that they were also produced locally and on a regular, organised basis. Making textiles was an important and culturally significant activity that may have been regularly practiced in homes and, as some evidence suggests, possibly even in monastic establishments. The use of textiles as an efficient medium of exchange presupposes a fair degree of standardisation. Textiles and tools are representatives of a broad and diverse ancient material culture generating economic, social and cultural capital'. (V&A)
Documentary evidence, furthermore, confirms that in large areas of the today Singkiang, i.e. the Loulan kingdom, rugs were more favored than silk bolts as standardised media of exchange at least since the first century AD. Their cultural and symbolic value is also attested by their presence in burial settings linking them to an even more widely occurring practice. Although it is hard to establish a range of possible patterns, a variety is firmly attested by the fragments excavated. Most plausibly, many traditions contributed, namely the nomadic Turco-Mongol, the non-Han Chinese, the settled populations of diverse ethnicity and, obviously, the splendid concurrence of the numerous Eurasian imageries crossing the Silk Roads.
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| Knotted woollen fragment, Loulan found, 150BC-60AD, V&A |
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| Weft beater, Loulan found 200AD |
In turn, the least material evidence exists about the ancient weaving and knotting tradition in the Oxus, Aral, and Caspian areas, whilst historical sources profusely mention it. Thus, it is relevant to remind what a cradle of human culture they had been.
Eneolithic to Bronze Age roughly sums up the ancient migrations West to East and vice-versa when the Near East and Indus Valley civilisations got to know each other via unexpected lively exchanges. BMAC (Bactriana Margiana Archeological complex), or the Oxus culture, was the soil which later Hellenistic Parthia, Sogdiana, and Bactriana blossomed onto. Sasanians and Chinese seeded the same soil in the first centuries of the Common Era. A splendid array of most ancient traditions, spiritual beliefs, and cosmological mindsets, in a word the greatest religions, were to be subsumed by Islam at the end of the first millennium AD. Yet, the uniqueness of this ever-fertile soil embodied by flexibility and inclusiveness indeed favoured the steady symbiosis between nomadic and settled populations essential to one another. The potential risks of migrations have been transformed into an ever enriching factor resulting also in a kaleidoscopic imagery.
The first known reign of the Turk tribes coming from inner Mongolia was established in these two broad areas (eastern and western Central Asia) and they are likely supposed to have accepted to some extent the local traditions to best relate to the local populations and enjoy the economic opportunities of the Silk Roads.
Regarding the Oghuz tribes responsible for a large corpus of textiles woven in Central Asia, nothing certain is known about their Turkic ancestry. Yet, since they are scholarly accepted to belong to the same ethnic stock, we will shortly delve into the early history of the latter.
Regarding the Oghuz tribes responsible for a large corpus of textiles woven in Central Asia, nothing certain is known about their Turkic ancestry. Yet, since they are scholarly accepted to belong to the same ethnic stock, we will shortly delve into the early history of the latter.
THE TURK ERA IN EURASIA
The Oghuz
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| Northern Caucasus, early Middle Ages structures |
A historical overview of the early Turk tribes conveys a diagram of their influential presence in the Eurasian zone and pinpoint an acme, duration and decrease wherein resilience was a seamless habit.
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| 1 - Eurasia, 500 AD |
The Gok Turks, one of the nomadic people living in inner Mongolia, did impressively arise in the history of Eurasia in the mid-VIth century when thanks to an array of alliances defeated Juan Juan (a large and influential confederation of nomads), Khitans and Kyrgyz. They could overcome the Chinese Zhou and Qi dynasties as well, forcing them to pay tributes.
Soon facing the West, they conquered the Heftalite kingdom with the help of the Sasanian empire, and entered Transoxiana, Sogdian, and Qwarezmian cities; Bukhara and Samarkand became de facto their possession. Fighting then for the control of the Silk Roads, they could bypass the Sassanian and Byzantine trade frontiers conquering the southern road to India and the northern to the Aral steppes and eastern Europe. These campaigns broadened the Turk presence in northern areas as conquerors, skillful artisans (blacksmiths in particular), and warriors.
Soon facing the West, they conquered the Heftalite kingdom with the help of the Sasanian empire, and entered Transoxiana, Sogdian, and Qwarezmian cities; Bukhara and Samarkand became de facto their possession. Fighting then for the control of the Silk Roads, they could bypass the Sassanian and Byzantine trade frontiers conquering the southern road to India and the northern to the Aral steppes and eastern Europe. These campaigns broadened the Turk presence in northern areas as conquerors, skillful artisans (blacksmiths in particular), and warriors.
In 572, a great Turk empire was established over Eurasia able to join its extreme lands with remarkable consequences. Quite soon it split into two parts (582) of which the western khaganate lasted till 743. This time span is considered the Turk Era of Eurasia and, for a powerful empire was established, it may be referred to as a Golden Age.
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| 2 - Eurasia, 572 AD |
Although the Turkification of the whole area began during the Hun-Heftalite migrations, it definitely deepened in this period despite a short formal suzerainty of the Tang dynasty, mid VIIth. The nomadic overlords mingled with the local traditions to the point of embracing Sogdian and Qwarezmian as official languages. New communities arose from the common interests of nomadic and settled individuals of diverse ethnicities (Tocharian, Iranian, and northern nomadic stocks). But in the VIIIth century, their dominion was to falter because of complex historical events linked to the Islamic advent upon Central Asia. After a wide Turkification, Central Asia underwent an as wide Islamisation spread to the extent that Turk-Islamic dynasties emerged at the end of the millennium.
While there is historical evidence for surmising this early medieval period to represent a legendary Turk Golden Age, a unique Turk record speaks for it, the Orkhon funerary monument, mid-VIIIth (Orkhon Valley, Mongolia). The funerary inscriptions, in fact, celebrate the Gok khaganate's great accomplishments in economic development and international polities bearing the memory that numerous representatives from all over the world attended the impressive funeral ceremonies. Furthermore, period Chinese chronicles praise the magnificence of the Turk court.
While there is historical evidence for surmising this early medieval period to represent a legendary Turk Golden Age, a unique Turk record speaks for it, the Orkhon funerary monument, mid-VIIIth (Orkhon Valley, Mongolia). The funerary inscriptions, in fact, celebrate the Gok khaganate's great accomplishments in economic development and international polities bearing the memory that numerous representatives from all over the world attended the impressive funeral ceremonies. Furthermore, period Chinese chronicles praise the magnificence of the Turk court.
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| Kul Tigin, brother of Bilge Kaghan, Gok Turk d. 731 |
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| Bilge Kaghan tiara, d. 734, Khosho Tsaidam Memorial Site. |
By common scholarship, this relatively short period was of paramount significance for the Turks to reshape their own cultural identity. In fact, the unprecedented international relations with the three major settled civilisations, the Byzantine, Sassanian, and Chinese, unveiled to the nomadic élites the necessity of coining a proper kingship image. Their conception of life world and beliefs should have been supposedly included in a new visual language comprehensible to the new neighbors yet not subordinate to those sophisticated cultures. At the same time, the quickly achieved power called for as magnificent pageantry as displayed by their counterparts, following the rule 'wealth is power'.
While this period of Turk history seems to have been scarcely addressed with respect to weavings, and rationally for no exemplars are thought to have survived, it may reveal to be of some interest.
While this period of Turk history seems to have been scarcely addressed with respect to weavings, and rationally for no exemplars are thought to have survived, it may reveal to be of some interest.
The Oghuz
The history of the Oghuz, the forefathers of the Turkmen tribes, mingles into the large family of Eurasian nomads broadly categorized as proto-Turko-Mongol. Most plausibly, they belong to the same Turk groups migrating within the Juan Juan confederation.
Oghuz tribes are, in fact, recorded to have established their own khaganate in the first half of the VIth century in western China, Sinkiang, profiting from the low and high ebbs of the local Juan Juan rulers. In the mid of the century, yet, the latter were defeated and subsumed by the emerging Gok Turk.
Internal tensions drove them to move to the Issyl Lake basin (Shanxi province) whence, afterwards, they drove west on the northern steppes ways. We find Oghuz mentioned in the Orkhon steles, and, finally, in Samanid and Arabic chronicles. These documents apparently confirm them to have fled from eastern lands to Transoxiana and the northern steppes between the Aral and Caspian Sea, second half VIIIth ca. Nevertheless, there is scarce evidence the 'eastern' Oghuz tribes are the same as those later found in western lands, for the term Oghuz may have been used with its broad meaning, namely a tribal confederation made up of several units.
Internal tensions drove them to move to the Issyl Lake basin (Shanxi province) whence, afterwards, they drove west on the northern steppes ways. We find Oghuz mentioned in the Orkhon steles, and, finally, in Samanid and Arabic chronicles. These documents apparently confirm them to have fled from eastern lands to Transoxiana and the northern steppes between the Aral and Caspian Sea, second half VIIIth ca. Nevertheless, there is scarce evidence the 'eastern' Oghuz tribes are the same as those later found in western lands, for the term Oghuz may have been used with its broad meaning, namely a tribal confederation made up of several units.
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| Al Tawarik, folio, 1238, Pilgrims' tents. |
However, it should be reasonable to imagine the Oghuz participating in the first Gok Turk empire partaking of the same cultural/artistic blossoming and sharing similar politics and policies. Facts do prove it.
Religious, political, and commercial bonds were quickly established by the Oghuz tribes with the Abbasid Caliphate (758-1258), as IXth and Xth century documents verify.
A capital was fixed in the lower part of the river Syr Darya, Jengi Ken, a fact that plausibly allowed them to be listed as 'kingly' people in 903. Qwarezm appears to have become their main emporium. The confederation was called Oghuz Yabgu State and their land 'Oghuz steppes'. These regions were crossed by the northern Silk Road, relived anew by the Turks at the end of the 6th century. Fruitful trades and profits were held by Sogdian and Qwarezmian merchants carrying their goods towards eastern and northern Europe obviously involving also the Oghuz groups. Furthermore, the process of settling caused to the creation of new communities with other ethnicities and, thus, new perspectives on many fields.
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| Eurasia, 700 AD |
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| Oghuz State |
They appeared to have been engaged in the historical events of the day and turned Islamic in the earliest XIth century from the mixed paganism by them in use. Although the many nomadic tribes were forcibly contrived by the Yabgu (the khan) to remain within the confederation and comply with its policies, a dichotomy between the settled and the pastoral groups soon became a reason for constant upheavals. At the end of the Xth, a branch split off, which was to originate the Seljuk lineage. This very moment was a turning point in the Oghuz fortune.
Meanwhile, the name 'Oghuz' was gradually replaced by Türkmen or Turkoman, a process completed by the beginning of the 13th century.
Mahmud Kashghari wrote in the 11th century an important Turkish language encyclopedia (Diva-nu Lughate-it-Turk, 1072 - 1074) whence much of what is known about these tribes is referred. Three hundred years later, Rashid al-Din offers a far more elaborate account including an Oghuz mythology (Jami al Tawarik). Abul Ghazi Bahadur Khan, ruler of Khiva (1643/44 until 1663) is the later rich source of information on the modern era events.
SHAPING A ROYAL PAGEANTRY
The Pearl Roundel
Alliances and wars led luxury and commodity goods lively circulating all throughout Eurasia via the many trade roads. In this respect should not be underrated the eager nature of Turk aristocrats for trading, essential means to boost their power.
The encampments of the Turk khagans soon became courtly settlements where, importantly, war booties, traded items, and royal gifts did not halt in a private treasure. On the contrary, they were going to be redistributed among kinsmen and affiliates as a sign of largess as well bond.
The pastoral residences plausibly were veritable melting pots where various foreign artistic languages converged. Archaeological excavations in these regions have proved the presence of good typologies acknowledged as distinctive of the diverse Eurasian civilisations, among them lots of silk fabric.
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| Yingpan Man, Tarim Basin found, textiles, 300-400AD (?) |
In the quest for self-representation and effective royal propaganda, the Turks most probably selected designs among the ones resonating with their traditions. After all, this process appears to have been a habit within Eurasian civilisations since earlier times, Sogdian and Heftalite best exemplars. This very feature was the means through which they could actually find traits complying with their supernatural imagery in the cultural milieu of Central Asia. As we will see later, the composition of the Oghuz mythological narrative seemingly further proves it.
The great novelty these hordes brought along in Central Asia was the once pastoral tribes to have soon fixed capital centers (Suya in the Ferghana Valley, and Kashgar in the Tarim Basin) mingling with the settled culture. More fortresses and strategic settlements were to be built to protect and boost trade and political interests. Experiencing a settled life, the Turk élites arguably appropriated some habits and features of the locals, Thus, it should not wonder they accustomed, for example, to the use of the period robe of honor as some frescoes in Afrasiab and Penjikent unveil. Mostly made of silk fabric depicted with roundels, it was one most diffuse types sought after by the aristocrats for a long time to come.
Most interestingly, by way of the northern Silk Road, this type is found also in use among populations bordering the Oghuz in the 9th and 10th centuries, such as the Alanians, one of whose kingdoms were established North of the Caucasus. Both familiarity with and use of this typology among the Oghuz should, thus, be surmised for some reason.
Most interestingly, by way of the northern Silk Road, this type is found also in use among populations bordering the Oghuz in the 9th and 10th centuries, such as the Alanians, one of whose kingdoms were established North of the Caucasus. Both familiarity with and use of this typology among the Oghuz should, thus, be surmised for some reason.
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| Alanian culture, Sogdian silk, robe of honour, 9th-10th, Hermitage |
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| Alanian culture, headdress designed like helmet, covered with Sogdian Silk, 9th-10th |
Sogdian artisans and merchants were greatly responsible for the widest diffusion and lively survival of this pattern beyond the vanishing of the Sasanian empire (224-651 AD). Importantly, they are referred to as having worked on Chinese commission quite early, as proved by representations of its usage in the Tarim Basin. But, most of all, they were excellent traders able to shape these designs on the desiderata of the diverse feudal aristocracies of the day, as a unique type, the Sogdian -Turfanese, testifies.
The commonest type depicts the pearl roundel interspersed in a secondary motif. One commonest secondary is the four-directional motif, a universal design relating to a cosmological image. This specific type could have originated a familiar template in the visual habit of these areas.
The commonest type depicts the pearl roundel interspersed in a secondary motif. One commonest secondary is the four-directional motif, a universal design relating to a cosmological image. This specific type could have originated a familiar template in the visual habit of these areas.
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| Robes of honour, Kucha kingdom, Kizil caves, 432-538, Tarim Basin |
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| Robe of honour, fragment, silk, Central Asia, 7th-8th |
The Pearl Roundel
But, why the pearl roundel design, what is its appeal?
This pattern was supposedly adopted in Central Asia, specifically Sogdia, from Sasanian art, even though more ancient sources are to be considered. Curiously enough, it is found also in the art of the nomadic populations of the Asian steppes in ancient times, like Scythian and Sarmatian artifacts testify. And, curiously, a likely device appears to be depicted in the Pazyryk carpet, part of a Scythian king's burial treasure (curiously enough, one decorating band in the Pazyrik shows the four directional motif likewise, although the two not being linked in a specific format yet alternating to figural depiction). Despite it is difficult to ascertain the relations the Schytians had with their eastern counterparts, they possibly had more than some. The habit of adapting and appropriating imagery a factor to be always considered among these moving empires.
Finally, the pearl roundel design can be thought of as familiar to the nomadic populations before the steppe tribes descended upon Central Asia, whatever the source.
However, from the Sasanian period onwards the pattern became the craze of the day in silk textiles, its paramount lifespan being VIth-IXth century with important vestiges into the 13th century.
This pattern was supposedly adopted in Central Asia, specifically Sogdia, from Sasanian art, even though more ancient sources are to be considered. Curiously enough, it is found also in the art of the nomadic populations of the Asian steppes in ancient times, like Scythian and Sarmatian artifacts testify. And, curiously, a likely device appears to be depicted in the Pazyryk carpet, part of a Scythian king's burial treasure (curiously enough, one decorating band in the Pazyrik shows the four directional motif likewise, although the two not being linked in a specific format yet alternating to figural depiction). Despite it is difficult to ascertain the relations the Schytians had with their eastern counterparts, they possibly had more than some. The habit of adapting and appropriating imagery a factor to be always considered among these moving empires.
Finally, the pearl roundel design can be thought of as familiar to the nomadic populations before the steppe tribes descended upon Central Asia, whatever the source.
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| Scythian disk, 200-1 BC, The Metropolitan Museum |
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| Scythian carpet, Pazyryk found, 400 BC |
However, from the Sasanian period onwards the pattern became the craze of the day in silk textiles, its paramount lifespan being VIth-IXth century with important vestiges into the 13th century.
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| Sasanian royal emblem within a pearl roundel, 6th, Metropolitan Museum |
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| Sasanian silk fabric, 5th-6th |
The roundel, usually framing important characters, mythological animals, and symbolic designs, is also easily comparable with the halo, a circular glow around the head of sacred and important characters, widespread in various Central Asia cultures. In turn, the pearl, usually gracing it, was a mark of wisdom, true self, wish-fulfilling jewel, and embodiment of the celestial symbolism of the moon. It seemingly completed as well enhanced the roundel's meaning. Pearl roundel silks were found also on funerary masks, a fact attesting to the undeniable symbolism which they were imbued with.
Whatever image was framed within, it always connected secular power, divine favor, and prosperity wishes, traits shared by different traditions. In particular, Sogdian versions privileged the representation of a sort of Eurasian animal pantheon much complying with a steppe repertoire.
Used also for paying taxes as well as rewards and imperial gifts, these fabrics may be rightly referred to as a classical outcome of Central Asian textiles. Obviously enough, they got to exert a great appeal on the steppe élites.
Rationally, an array of reasons apparently made the pearl roundel a logical choice for a pattern to be displayed in the Turk weavings.
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| Iran or Central Asia, 7th-8th, pearl halo crowning Khusrau II (?), The David Collection |
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| Sogdia, 8th, fronting winged horses |
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| Central Asia, Afghanistan (?), 7th, boar's head and peacock, Metropolitan Museum |
A TURK IMAGERY
It may be necessary to verify whether a commonality of themes between the Central Asian and Turk imagery existed in order to reinforce the connection.
The scarce evidence regarding early Turk imagery, that is ante 565, is to be deduced from petroglyphs, memorial steles, and coinage, the meaning of which scholars increased with descriptions found in the scripts themselves and contemporaneous Chinese chronicles.
Two designs should have been dominant in the kingship representation as royal marks (tamgha) of the two major ruling dynasties, the Ashina and Ashida. Their distinguishing marks were respectively the mountain goat/ibex and the snake/dragon. They seem to have been steadily used as a symbol of power. Two more animals enjoyed a special status, the raptor and the horse. The former represents both a celestial being loaded with divine attributes connecting heavens and earth and one essential activity of the steppe nomads, the falconry. The latter was the second best companion of the nomads apt for herding and warfare, enjoying a celestial status in Eurasia as neatly displayed by added wings in the silks depictions.
These images in Turk art may have had quite elegant and recognisable shapes, such as the 'falcon' carved on the stone tiara of Kul Tegin memorial statue (circa 730) or the horse stamped on a Turk coin (6th). Otherwise, in 'rural' environments, like some petroglyphs declare, the designs were rationally more stylized and simplified.
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| Kul Tegin memorial, I half 8th, detail, Raptor |
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| Gok Turk coin, 6th, Horse and Crescent. |
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| Sogdia, Fronting Raptors, 8th-9th |
Yet, in respect of style and possible designs, other royal marks as found on coins and seals can't be discarded likewise. These were, again, the emblems (coats of arms) of a clan, tribe, or family among the nomadic populations of Eurasia. They represent mostly animals, more or less stylised, with a totemic and protective function. It should here be reminded that medieval chronicles record how Oghuz tribes' tamgha were mostly birds of prey. They are often matched with star and crescent to reinforce the idea of the divine favor and origin of the ruling dynasty.
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| Gok Turk coin, 6th-7th, verso with royal mark |
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| Gok Turk coin, 7th-8th, verso with royal mark |
Although it is definitely impossible to assume which motifs could have appeared in the royal Turk fabrics patterned with pearl roundel, horse, ibex, raptor, moon, and stars reasonably are on the list, while the tree of life and related vegetal forms can be added for their universal meaning.
THE PEARL ROUNDEL FROM SILK TO KNOTS
Reshaping Roundels
The Secondary Motif
The question as to whether or not Turk weavers wove pearl roundel patterned rugs opens a second question whether such format had been ever knotted in that period. After all, it appears also in other visual media (i.e. architectural decoration in frescoes and stucco work, seals, and coins) so as to verify a common use.
Unluckily indeed, no documentary and material evidence exists to prove such a pattern had ever been transferred into rugs by the local settled populations, should they be Sogdian or other ethnicities. Nevertheless, two interesting facts do surface in a significant local art, namely the VIIth-VIIIth century Penjikent palace's murals.
While representing prominent characters (most probably Sogdians) dressing in pearl roundel patterned cloths, they unveil the same design woven into saddles. Since the affinity between trappings and rugs is a matter of fact in later periods, it should be considered also in these earlier times. Furthermore, the scarce representation of textiles for use on the floor (rugs, if ever) displays the use of the roundel in the border, making the field format (in this case a geometric grid) a secondary fact. Thus, such two points should invite us to reflect on whether urban elités had ever transferred this format into rugs. To this respect, it is quite interesting to mention that some Sogdians occasionally dressed in Turkic clothes and as well used the Turk language and alphabet, facts further surmising a real symbiosis between the two ethnicities. Thus, a possibility claims to be contemplated: could the Turks have imitated both the local silk fabrics and rugs? Unmistakably, the resemblance of the actual Turkmen format and the pearl roundel pattern calls for a shared lineage, although a proper pearl roundel is not to be seen in any Turkmen carpet.
THE PEARL ROUNDEL FROM SILK TO KNOTS
Reshaping Roundels
The Secondary Motif
The question as to whether or not Turk weavers wove pearl roundel patterned rugs opens a second question whether such format had been ever knotted in that period. After all, it appears also in other visual media (i.e. architectural decoration in frescoes and stucco work, seals, and coins) so as to verify a common use.
Unluckily indeed, no documentary and material evidence exists to prove such a pattern had ever been transferred into rugs by the local settled populations, should they be Sogdian or other ethnicities. Nevertheless, two interesting facts do surface in a significant local art, namely the VIIth-VIIIth century Penjikent palace's murals.
While representing prominent characters (most probably Sogdians) dressing in pearl roundel patterned cloths, they unveil the same design woven into saddles. Since the affinity between trappings and rugs is a matter of fact in later periods, it should be considered also in these earlier times. Furthermore, the scarce representation of textiles for use on the floor (rugs, if ever) displays the use of the roundel in the border, making the field format (in this case a geometric grid) a secondary fact. Thus, such two points should invite us to reflect on whether urban elités had ever transferred this format into rugs. To this respect, it is quite interesting to mention that some Sogdians occasionally dressed in Turkic clothes and as well used the Turk language and alphabet, facts further surmising a real symbiosis between the two ethnicities. Thus, a possibility claims to be contemplated: could the Turks have imitated both the local silk fabrics and rugs? Unmistakably, the resemblance of the actual Turkmen format and the pearl roundel pattern calls for a shared lineage, although a proper pearl roundel is not to be seen in any Turkmen carpet.
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| Penjikent murals, 6th-8th, camel saddle with roundel design |
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| Penjikent, Sogdian murals, 6th-8th, rug-like fabric |
Reshaping Roundels
Indeed, the roundel pattern received many different shapes in the silk designs and some of them may have been favored and then reworked and reused. Centuries later derived designs may be difficult to trace back, yet it is still possible to find quite evident relations between the actual Turkmen 'roundel' shapes (let us, for now, name this way the gul) and the silk fabrics' ones. In the quest for blueprints we have chosen those Turkmen designs seemingly more congruent with the sourcing models.
In a survey of the various Turkmen gul shapes the chuval gul and the gulli gul stand out, plus the octagonal type.
The octagon does not overpopulate roundel fabrics either as primary and secondary motif. Nevertheless, one can consider it to be the simplest reduction of a roundel, especially if applied to the knotted technique. It is usually found in Arabatchi tauk-nuska gul, Karadashli, Temirjin and occasionally others.
Interestingly enough, the octagon seems to be reserved for specific designs with a more evident 'tribal' or non-urban accent, for they are mostly associated with 'rural' designs like animals, kotchanak, and others.
In a survey of the various Turkmen gul shapes the chuval gul and the gulli gul stand out, plus the octagonal type.
The octagon does not overpopulate roundel fabrics either as primary and secondary motif. Nevertheless, one can consider it to be the simplest reduction of a roundel, especially if applied to the knotted technique. It is usually found in Arabatchi tauk-nuska gul, Karadashli, Temirjin and occasionally others.
Interestingly enough, the octagon seems to be reserved for specific designs with a more evident 'tribal' or non-urban accent, for they are mostly associated with 'rural' designs like animals, kotchanak, and others.
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| Sogdian or Chinese culture, 8th, octagonal roundel |
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| Central Asia, silk robe of honour, octagonal secondary motif, 11th |
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| Octagonal gul, Arabatchi tauk-nuska gul , 18th |
The case of the Salor gulli-gul shape might be tentatively defined as a synthesis of a manifold of roundels resulting in a polilobed form. Crossbreeds with an array of traditions could, in fact, be involved in such receptive design.
Quite interestingly, a polilobed medallion is exhibited in a stucco decoration from the late phase of the Afrasiab palace decoration (IXth-XIth) where a full mastery of its 'decorative' significance appears. It does not make wonder, then, if it became a decorative formula in early Timurid art, and, consequently, in the Central Asian decorative repertoire. A Chinese lineage may also be underlined as exposed in the silks lively circulating in Central Asia during the Yuan period. The Chagatai khanate and the Golden Horde were, in fact, widely expanding the Chinese patterns anew wherein a similar polilobed medallion was a usual design.
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| Polilobed gul, Salor gulli-gul, Salor mc, 19th, M. Therani Gallery |
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| Sasanian textile, 6th-7th, lobed/petalled roundel, Cleveland Museum |
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| Sogdian textile, lobed/petalled roundel, 7th-8th |
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| Sogdian textile, 7th-8th, ornated roundel profile. |
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| Late Afrasiab phase, 9th-11th, Museum of Afrasiab |
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| Yuan silk, LACMA |
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| Samarkanda, Sha i Zindah, late 14th |
The chuval gul shape may hark back to a somewhat later device which appears to be some of a breed apart among the roundel types. It, in fact, reminds more of a cartouche-like form traceable in the various geometric designs which occurred in period architectural decoration. It effectively seems the result of overlapped curved and angular shapes. In fabrics, although not one most represented design, it appears both as a primary and secondary motif. No need to make notice of the geometric rendition of the curve lines with respect to the original.
The geometrical nature and the substrate of overlapped shapes in its profile will be of some importance in defining also the main interior decoration of the chuval gul, as we will see later.
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| Chuval gul, Yomud, 19th |
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| Secondary motif, Sogdian textile, 8th-9th |
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| Primary design, Byzantine textile 9th-10th, Abegg-Stiftung |
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| Complex form, Ummayad stucco, mid 8th, The Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem. |
The Secondary Motif
Regarding the secondary gul, Turkmen carpets sport a certain variety ranging from diverse forms of what clearly resemble the four directional motif to diminished and simplified versions of primary guls or other designs. A similar freedom is seen in the original pearl roundel fabrics, but surely the most distinctive type is the four directional motif.
Often displaying a floral guise in the blueprints, it is quite well represented in Turkmen main carpets, should it be or not further evidence of the pearl roundel lineage. Usually, it is translated into a geometrised design with floral vestiges.
The richness of these motifs, nonetheless, should merit a dedicated survey, not the case of here.
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| Four directional motif, Sogdian baby jacket, 8th |
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| Sogdian textile, 7th-8th |
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| Secondary motif, Yomud frag |
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| Secondary gul, Yomud |
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| Secondary gul, Saryk mc frag. |
THE YEAR 1000 AND A SHIFTING IMAGERY
As the opening assumption was the once nomadic populations had appropriated the pearl roundel pattern and a shared bestiary decoration within, delving into a realistic scene and analysis is the next obliged step. But in the meantime, the historical panorama was changing blowing away the customary animal beings.
The symbolical year 1000, much resonating in Western sensibility, represents in Central Asia a marking point of a shifting cultural prospect as well. This very moment saw, in fact, the birth of the first Turk-Islamic dynasties which were soon to become the leading drive of all Eurasia from eastern Turkestan to the western Mediterranean shores. Islam was a main character in this game and, despite all, a cohesive factor able to coalesce new policies and politics. Art was just in the middle of this process as a major cultural means.
The Islamic conquest of Central Asia, beginning mid of the VIIIth century, essentially turned to be a cultural invasion against 'paganism'. Islam was going to be diffused with any means to repress and replace the religious diversity hitherto characterizing the Central Asian populations. However, the process of Islamization proceeded very slowly; often, forcibly converted individuals secretly remained adherent to their beliefs.
Imposing an altering self-identity system in such rich environment unmistakably involved a Sisyphus effort. Nonetheless, two distinguished features of the Central Asian mindset, namely flexibility, and receptivity, undoubtedly played a big role in the process of assimilation of the new cultural parameters.
This least known period (VIIIth-XIth) was to become crucial for the development of new iconographies most likely in all the 'rug belt'. But, unfortunately again, scarce evidence prevents from submitting a satisfying reconstruction of the smooth changes that occurred in art, least of all the knotted medium.
A reasonable sketch should anyhow stress how much from the early Islamic Caliphates onwards, traits of diverse traditions were incorporated into the Islamic stream. As well, it should suggest a quicksilver aspect of visual arts wherein old and new cohabited for a while.
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| Ghaznavid painted wooden box, XII th. |
In this respect essential was the engagement of the wandering Sufi masters for their ability to mingle older beliefs with Islamic conceits. They, in fact, spread the new religion at the Turk courts of the day and nomadic groups too. New decorative typologies were molded to comply with both the Islamic proscription of figural images and the will of imbuing art with the new religious conceits. Roughly said, geometry, floral design, and calligraphy will constitute a new lexicon permeating Islamic art from then on.
Linked to ancient observations of celestial and earthly events, the geometric design developed its own patterns and symbology possibly parallel to the 'animal style' as prehistorical images suggest. Over the Middle Ages, the great scientific achievements (geometry, astronomy, and mathematics), as well as the developing art of calligraphy, undoubtedly were two great catalysts for molding a new visual language.
Starting from Transoxiana and Qwarezm to eastern (today Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan) and southern regions (today Afghanistan), a consistent shifting style is easily evidenced through architecture. The Samanid style in Bukhara possibly inaugurated this new era definitely entombing the figural imagery of royalty and divinity as sported by pre-Islamic Sogdian murals.
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| Samanid culture (819-999), Mausoleum in Bukhara, |
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| Bukhara, Varakhsah Palace, 7th-8th |
After the fall of the Samanids, Qwarezmian art verifies the development of this style enriched with significant use of ornated calligraphy wherein vegetal forms play an increasing role.
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| Qwarezm, Urgench, Mausoleum of Qho-Rezmanshah II, 12th |
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| Qwarezm, Urgench, Mausoleum of Qho-Rezmanshah II, 12th |
At the eastern pole of Central Asia, similar visual treatments were developed by the Turk Kharakhanid dynasty there established in the late 10th century.
A stunning use of interlaced geometric patterns, highly refined calligraphy, and richly decorated medallions embellished with vegetal ornaments does voice a ripe art. Interestingly enough, a quite similar style joins the artistic expressions in various Turk-Islamic kingdoms towards the West, i. e. the Near East, Egypt, and Spain.
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| Kharakhanid Uzgen, Mosque, 11th-12th |
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| Kharakhanid Uzgen, mosque, wooden panel, 11th-12th |
However, it is in the core of Central Asia, Afrasiab (old Samarkand), where we can glimpse the original nature of the new vocabulary.
Some stucco works have been studied and seem to hide a complex religious and cosmological symbolism. Each form to it (eight-pointed star, hexagram, swastika, nine-petal flower) is thought to represent an enciphered version of heathen beliefs while adhering to a non-figural imagery prescribed by Islam. Thus, the combination of forms would convey an array of specific conceits. In turn, the permeating presence of vegetal forms should express the integrity of macro and micro-cosmo. Again, note the still common usage of the pearl roundel in these designs.
It should not wonder if emblematic images from very ancient civilisations partook of this lexicon, a testament to the long-lasting syncretism of Central Asia.
It should not wonder if emblematic images from very ancient civilisations partook of this lexicon, a testament to the long-lasting syncretism of Central Asia.
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| Afrasyab, 'Hidden Texts', 9th-10th |
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| Afrasyab, panel, 10th |
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| Indo-European image of an astronomical and cosmological indication, 3000BC, Harappa site |
This unpredictable panorama leads to imagining of other aniconic designs to be included in the new Islamic artistic language. One such type may be unraveled in the Kharakhanid mosque of Aisha Bibi, today Kazakhstan, built 11th-12th century. Its external structure is bedecked with simple decorative units which are claimed to be a symbolic heritage of ancient Turkic culture. One of them appears to be the ubiquitous four-directional design sported in two classic outlays, the orthogonal and the 45 degrees rotated version, with curled Chinese-inspired leaf or kotchanak finials gracing them.
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| Aisha Bibi Mosque, Taraz, 11th-12th |
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| Aisha Bibi Mosque, detail |
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| Bactriana jewels, gold. |
The Kharakhanid decoration looks like voicing a specific aesthetic that originated eastwards. It plausibly originated in the eastern Turk khaganate where a reciprocated cultural exchange with China had occurred and the nomadic steppe tradition was already rooted and ripened since centuries of historical events.
In this regard, it is interesting to note how a small group of rugs found in Anatolia and classified as 'Seljuk' seem related to this small unit format. They are so consistent with the Kharakhanid decoration of Aisha Bibi's to the extent that they appear properly fit such setting in a sort of planned visual project. Furthermore, one could infer these designs had been one other layout of Turkmen/Oghuz decorative pool.
However, these carpets allegedly woven during the Seljuk dominion in Asia Minor, do not show any similarity with the 'roundel' type, despite the long shared cultural roots. However, the Seljuks can be rationally thought of as having woven that very pattern too during their union with the Oghuz Confederation. Yet, the creation of a new dynasty and empire (the Great Seljuk and the Seljuk of Konya, 11th-14th) plausibly led them to seek for a new distinctive visual language.
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| Seljuk fragmented rug, 12th, TIEM |
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| Aisha Bibi |
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| Seljuk fragment, Konya Ethnographic Museum |
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| Aisha Bibi mosque, main portal |
The same reasoning, on the other hand, as applied to Turkmen carpets, should prove why their format never changed. In fact, nothing so important as the foundation of a new state happened again in the Oghuz/Turkmen history. Furthermore, the persistence of only one format might suggest it to have been the most significant among others. Whether specifically reserved to courtly rugs or not, it was plausibly imitated by akin and affiliated groups both in the urban and pastoral environment.
THE YEAR 1000 AND A PIECEMEAL REALITY
Unlike other Turk groups able to establish geopolitical powerhouses in the 11th-13th century, the Oghuz accomplished an acme of power only in 1041-1042, when Malik was appointed by the Ghasnavids as Shah of Qwarezm in the capital Urgench. And, prematurely defeated and banished, they soon after vanished. Many individuals were dispersed in bordering areas and there subsumed. Part of them settled in the Caspian Mangyslak plateau and part fled in the southwest areas of Central Asia. Slipped back to a pastoral semi-nomadic life the Oghuz-Türkmen were soon eclipsed and regionalized in the Mongol and Timurid polities.
Interestingly enough, this very period saw the birth of the Oghuz Narrative wherein the need to communicate a convenient cultural heritage in a time of empire formation is clearly present. Far from the pure nomadic Tengrism, the new legend claims more inclusive old-age traditions spanning from a Biblical ancestry and a long-aged monotheism to parallels with Alexander the Great. Such overarching mythology appears in accord with the aforementioned mindset of these tribes which had previously accepted Nestorianism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and Judaism. Rather accordingly, the extreme result was the conversion to Islam.
In Mangyslak a new Confederation was seemingly forged by the powerful Salor tribe, whence the genealogy of the Turkmen tribes, as we today know them, originated with the later contribution of added tribes from bordering areas. But despite their active role in the area, they never got back to the previous status of princely splendor.
Interestingly enough, this very period saw the birth of the Oghuz Narrative wherein the need to communicate a convenient cultural heritage in a time of empire formation is clearly present. Far from the pure nomadic Tengrism, the new legend claims more inclusive old-age traditions spanning from a Biblical ancestry and a long-aged monotheism to parallels with Alexander the Great. Such overarching mythology appears in accord with the aforementioned mindset of these tribes which had previously accepted Nestorianism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and Judaism. Rather accordingly, the extreme result was the conversion to Islam.
In Mangyslak a new Confederation was seemingly forged by the powerful Salor tribe, whence the genealogy of the Turkmen tribes, as we today know them, originated with the later contribution of added tribes from bordering areas. But despite their active role in the area, they never got back to the previous status of princely splendor.
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| The Mangyslak peninsula in the brown circle |
This sort of regression from a greater geopolitical arena quite plausibly shaped an even stronger self-pride that could only rely on tradition and the dream of a Golden Age. Preserving a traditional iconography was then a way to feel still part of the Great History. But, we should anticipate Turkmen not to be separated from the mainstream of their cultural basin, neither we can assume the designs in their main carpets to have arisen all of a sudden in the 15th-17th century. This last period actually may sign their last princely-like experience, for some of them succeeded in short periods to take over the power of some Uzbek khans. Such historical events, fully elucidated by others, might explain the noble aura of some of the earliest survived main carpets and related weavings.
The breakdown of the Oghuz Confederation may have caused several consequences. A tribal unity was replaced by a piecemeal reality that was probably reflected in weavings. Such a situation could have boosted the birth of idiomatic designs, but whether they expressed the identity of individual groups is, again, fairly speculative. A certain variety, in fact, should have been part of traditional iconography.
Obviously, the conversion of the Turk populations to Islam and the slow shift to a new visual language drive to presume a change of imagery in their carpets. Adapting to new habits, a survival technique ever since, likely drove them to include in the traditional frame, the roundel/gul, the new aforementioned elements: geometrical patterns, floral designs, and calligraphy.
Obviously, the conversion of the Turk populations to Islam and the slow shift to a new visual language drive to presume a change of imagery in their carpets. Adapting to new habits, a survival technique ever since, likely drove them to include in the traditional frame, the roundel/gul, the new aforementioned elements: geometrical patterns, floral designs, and calligraphy.
RESHAPING DESIGNS
So, whatever happened to the mythological beasts? Did they vanish or were cleverly enciphered in a new lexicon ? May we recognise in the latter the three new decorative elements? Whence may new designs have been sourced?
It is safe enough to imagine the Turkmen to abandon the heathen images not all of a sudden and evenly in the different locations. The new aesthetic requirements plausibly were firstly fulfilled by settled Turkmen and those more closely related to the commercial emporiums to be consequently adopted by more peripheral groups in different degrees.
The Chuval Gul and Geometry
The following analysis of the chuval gul design is focused on delineating an imaginary template accountable for a manifold of descendants and variations. Therefore, a paradigmatic one was looked for if ever possible. Yet, the continuity of Turkmen iconography seems to allow a certain confidence.
A spell is therein as to how the design is masterfully conceived, almost a geometry theorem. This very feature can't but compel a comparison with the geometrical patterns previously seen in architecture. Admittedly, surmising architectural decoration as one primal source for 'tribal' patterns may be quite paradoxical yet rational given the historical facts above mentioned.
Interlaced patterns did, in fact, become a stigma of Islamic art and were easily available as design repertoire. A similar nature has been previously surmised for the shape of the same gul.
In several versions of this design, the eye is captured by the forms inscribed in one another, some of them essential motifs in a geometrical symbolism, namely the octagon and the 8 pointed star (the latter usually adapting the placement of the points to the inner form of the device, thus irregularly). The underlying reason of this pattern seems to be the idea of a repeat interlaced pattern reduced to a self-sufficient unit. Support of this interpretation is the lively chromatic interplay between the star points and the field that may suggest a three-dimensional feature. And, in fact, such architectural patterns have been poignantly interpreted like a reduction of three-dimensional designs to a surface (G. Neciplogu). This very nature enticed us to give the chuval gul a nickname, 'prismatic gul'.
The design, nonetheless, does not avoid hinting at the original tribal lifeworld. It, in fact, appears governed by the four directional symbol whose orthogonal lines always protrude and overarch the device. Crested bird heads, an ancient steppe theme, grace their finials. Such habit might have been a legacy of the Golden Age when Turks supposedly added traditional marks to borrowed designs.
In this perspective, calling this gul 'archetypal' should refer to an original motif of early Islamic art that was appropriated and reworked by the Turkmen after the Year 1000.
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| Paradigmatic chuval gul, (Yomud torba, De Young Museum), tcoletribalrugs photo courtesy |
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| Yomud m.c., 15th-17th, Sovrani Tappeti, plate 108 |
Such typology of decoration continued to be an essential part of Timurid architecture as well from the 3rd quarter of the 14th century.
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| Samarkanda, Bibi Khanum minaret, late 14t
The only textiles depicting such interlacings, otherwise typical of tile, stucco and wood work, are some Spanish silks of the Nasrid period (Muslim Spain, 1232-1492) roughly matching the same time-span as the supposed blueprints of our gul.
They do curiously unveil also the possible process of introducing/mixing the primary/secondary interplay into purely geometrical patterns. In this respect, the spreading of Turk-stock groups turned Islamic towards the Near East and the Mediterranean shores may have been partly responsible for the Turk-Islamic style and requirements to be diffused beyond the Central Asian borders. Later Timurid miniatures show an array of parallel patterns likewise. |
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| Nasrid silk fragment, Fundaciòn Làzaro Galdiano Madrid |
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| Nasrid silk fragment |
Not for nothing, the same structure of superimposed geometric forms can be detected in other significant Turk derived weaving traditions. We might, thus, consider to include this type of device, the chuval gul, in a wide visual language distinguishing the Turk-Islamic weaving art spanning from Central Asia to the Mamluk Egypt throughout Anatolia.
Integrating Turkmen carpets in an international scene may further elaborate their uniqueness and merits.
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| Diagram of interlaced geometrical shapes, exemplar |
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| Anatolia, medallion rug, Vakiflar Museum, 15th-16th |
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| Mamluk Egypt, central medallion detail, 15th-16th, Berlin Museum |
The Gulli Gul and the Floral Design
This type of gul possibly adds another tessera to understand the weavers' creative process.
In this case, it is easier to imagine a template for no great variations are given.
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| Salor main carpet fragment, Gulli gul |
We have seen how Islam caused the blooming of an endemic geometric style combined with floral elements. Over time, a vegetative décor seems to have replaced the interlacing geometries, yet maintaining the same self-generating structure. Vines replaced lines embellished with buds, lotuses, palmettes and leaves. In this regard, the Chinese floral designs circulating in Eurasia since the Han period (200BC-220AD) should be reminded of as one essential influence via silk and pottery. From then on, several waves of Chinese art invaded Central Asia, the last during the Liao empire, the Yuan and Timurid period.
In a short time, in turn, a new artistic bloom occurred during the reign of Timur thanks to his 'princely vision'. Many of the decorative formulas elaborated by his courtly laboratories expanded the artistic possibilities of Islamic art so as to become exemplary sources of inspiration.
If ever a simplistic definition could account for a typical Timurid decoration, one might rightly say the complex Islamic geometries to have been transformed into an ordered apparatus of vegetal elements in different arrangements.
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| Eastern Central Asia, silk embroidery, 12th-14th, The Metropolitan |
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| Central Asia (Nishapur?), 11th |
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| Central Asia, Timurid art, fragmented decoration, late 14th |
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| Samarkanda, carved wooden door, 1405 |
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| Samarkanda, Ulugh Beg madrassa, early 15th |
The combination of geometry and floral motifs had apparently inspired Turkmen weavers to an update of style. It was not difficult to add floral details to a geometric center (trefoil or stylised bud).
Usually, in this typology, a polilobed frame contains an eight pointed device, at times flattened so as to resemble a cartouche. Within the latter other inscribed geometric shapes or small animals lie. The four directional motif typically remains, while stylised flowers grace the diagonal sides.
Like in the chuval gul, an alternating chromaticism is conserved, although here it appears more a question of a given taste and visibility than a structural necessity of the design.
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| Salor gulli gul, early 19th, Tehrani Gallery photo courtesy |
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| Tekke gul, tcoletribalrugs photo courtesy |
It is indeed questionable yet fascinating surmising that the appearance of other 'realistic' floral depictions in Turkmen weavings might have a similar origin. To this regard it must be added that vegetal representations in the form of a plant or shrub, or even just a flower adjoined to a geometrical device, were a traditional feature of pearl roundel designs whether inside or outside the roundel. They most likely referred to the most ancient Eurasian Tree of Life motif. It is thus consistent to find them in Turkmen imagery; in the case of the actual carpets they look like isolated from the field and reserved to the elem as if in full emphasis.
Surely, kinds of floral bunch and shrub were diffusely represented in period miniated books, which must be supposed to have been among the treasured holdings of the Turkmen élites. The alleged early date of some Yomut main carpets sporting shrub inscribed elems are astoundingly in harmony with the period miniatures. Although more close and akin models may be easily found (i.e. those in Safavid and Mughal weavings), we purposely present an unspecific parallel to save the uniqueness of Turkmen aesthetic and creativity. It should be considered utterly a constraining point of view to look for specific models to any design and detail, an excess of classification diminishing the artistic value of an artifact. Furthermore, a developing style must always be taken into account.
Surely, kinds of floral bunch and shrub were diffusely represented in period miniated books, which must be supposed to have been among the treasured holdings of the Turkmen élites. The alleged early date of some Yomut main carpets sporting shrub inscribed elems are astoundingly in harmony with the period miniatures. Although more close and akin models may be easily found (i.e. those in Safavid and Mughal weavings), we purposely present an unspecific parallel to save the uniqueness of Turkmen aesthetic and creativity. It should be considered utterly a constraining point of view to look for specific models to any design and detail, an excess of classification diminishing the artistic value of an artifact. Furthermore, a developing style must always be taken into account.
The depiction of flowers and shrubs more or less stylised down to crossbreeding with geometrical designs, seems to confirm a feature of Turkmen design, that is a polysemous nature open to receive/convey more than one meaning. Legacy from an old need and habit, it apparently seeded an array of forms to such an extent that some of them are hardly decipherable for they do show more than one source.
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| Floral device, Iran or Central Asia silk, 7th-8th c. the David Collection |
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| Herat Miniature, 1431, The Hermitage |
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| Yomut mc, elem shrubs, 17th-18th, Moshe Tabibnia Collection photo credit |
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| Yomut asmalyk, det., The Louvre |
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| Aisha Bibi, Kharakhanid Mausoleum |
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| Mongol period, cloud collar motif |
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| Lotus shape, 13th |
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| Scattered lotus, Timurid tilework, 14th |
Again, parallels are easily to be found in the Near Eastern basin. After all, Timurid artifacts of all types and paper scrolls as exemplars, travelled throughout and beyond the empire's borders. Nonetheless, given the great proximity of Turkmen weavers to the cradle of this style, a most prompt appropriation of such models should be suspected and given them a sort of primacy.
It should not anymore appal the evident similarity of an early Ottoman motif with a classic of the Turkmen output, the Tekke main gul. The influence of the Timurid decorative language in early Ottoman art has been scholarly underlined (G. Necipoglu). Almost logical, again, appears a stunning affinity with a type of Mamluk designs.
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| Tekke MC, 19th, tcoletribalrugs photo courtesy |
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| Ottoman Ushak carpet, 15th-16th, Berlin Museum |
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| Mamluk carpet, The Simonetti, The Metropolitan Museum, circa 1500 |
A Special Gulli Gul
The Saryk, a distinctive gulli gul type may introduce a further proof of the Timurid influence. The black diamond within the gul sports the typical craze for knots (the intermediate elements of the black outline may well be geometrised knots, while the angles end with bud) seen in the manifold of 'miniated' Timurid rugs. Similar usage is found in another Turkmen typology.
Some trappings with the so-called Turret gul show, in fact, a secondary gul graced with the same knots. It would be comfortable to claim an Anatolian influence for the similarity with one of the Holbein small medallion, but the first-hand Timurid models should be seriously considered. The Saryk black diamond appears consistent with the same organising principle, that is building devices with knots.
Some trappings with the so-called Turret gul show, in fact, a secondary gul graced with the same knots. It would be comfortable to claim an Anatolian influence for the similarity with one of the Holbein small medallion, but the first-hand Timurid models should be seriously considered. The Saryk black diamond appears consistent with the same organising principle, that is building devices with knots.
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| Saryk mc frag, gulli gul, tcoletribalrug courtesy |
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| Salor chuval, secondary gul with knots, NERS |
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| Herat miniature, 1495 |
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| Timurid tile, cartouche form, early14th |
Two further comparisons with early Anatolian designs are compelling. One between the Saryk black diamond and the 'Ghirlandaio' medallion. The other with the cruciform gul in the Small Holbein Pattern.
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| Anatolian fragment, Alexander collection |
Calligraphy
Artistic inscriptions firstly and calligraphy later, became an essential part of the Turk Islamic visual art in its various declinations, not least textiles. A significant element in the architectural decorative system, it was diffusely applied to textiles spread on the floor (rugs?) as plenty of miniatures show since early times. It is also represented in late pearl roundel silks (XIIth, XIIIth century).
It should be enough safe to hypothesise it to be conveniently displayed in early Turkmen rugs as the contemporaneous Seljuk did.
As an array of Anatolian rugs confirm, it underwent a manifold of reworking where a precise script and meaning was not any more important but the charisma it added to the artifact. That is the reason for it to be called kufesque design meaning a design derived from the kufic script. That said, there may be a few proper words maintained visible like the case of the 'lam alif' referring to the Almighty. This very sign extraordinarily appears in some early Turkmen rugs verifying, if ever, the influence or the blend of calligraphy in the border designs.
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| Syria, 14th, Lam Alif design |
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| Anatolia, Small Medallion Holbein frag, 15th-16th, Lam Alif within a kufesque border |
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| The Hoffmeister Collection, Yomut torba, 15th-17th (?), Lam Alif in the border design. |
Other examples are well discerned in the dedicated literature.
Yet, one more example may be of use here. The structure of the next border can't but remind a reworked version of the elements of the Lam Alif: the knotted design has been isolated from the vertical elements, while the latter form the white grid (see Speculations on the "Kufic" Border in Orient Rugs in the Pacific Collection, p.121) . However, we can find a blueprint of this design in Sogdian art as well (see the robe's border in the fresco)
Arguably, the usage of kufesque designs to the borders of their rugs should overtly persuade of the open mindset these 'tribal' populations were imbued with.
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| Salor main carpet, frag, 19th |
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| Sogdian fresco, The Hermitage |
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| Anatolian Small medallion Holbein, 16th, border detail, TIEM |
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| Uzbekistan, fragmented decoration, late 14th |
Other guls
However, some rarest cases drive us back to earlier times.
One unique case is represented by the octagon framing what resembles a 'mistery play' as depicted in the octagon of a trapping. Animals and a totemic device are orderly arranged as if to present an ancient myth or a protecting triad where, again, white dots to the central animal may refer to its heavenly symbology. A rarest survivor of ancient pre-Islamic beliefs.
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| Octagonal gul, 'Mistery Play', Eagle group kapunuk, Ashgabat National Museum, tcoletribalrugs photocourtesy |
On the contrary, the Temirjin gul might hold an enciphered trace of a Sogdian decorative element. The typical design repeated in the four section of the gul seems to be a vestige of the typical ribbon gracing the celestial animals depicted in the pearl roundels. Although originally rendered in a fluent three-dimensional design, the flapping ribbon seen in Sogdian silks usually morphed in contracted folds. In this context, the Temirjin motif may be a further contraction and reworking where the original meaning was probably lost. The different interpretations offered on this design, in as much indeed plausible, look like complying with the polysemous nature of this art and its continuous developing.
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| Temirjin gul, tcoletribalrugs photo courtesy |
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| Sassanian silk, 7th |
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| Central Asian silk, 8th |
It is not here the case to discuss other guls wherein the usual compound seems to be destroyed and recomposed into new unpredictable shapes. Yet, the carpet's format remained unaltered. In turn, crescent, star, four directional and kotchanak motif, geometric forms and other designs usually grace them. Nevertheless, the visual result, once more, reflects the formidable ability of moulding new designs by disruption and recreation.
These types not only testify to a receptive mindset in regard to adapting new designs to a traditional layout but also the human need of creating new forms within and despite the frame of tradition. To this respect, one should mind that in Central Asia not essential visual novelties happened after the Timurid time. The Shaybanid and Uzbek heirs of Timur mostly updated art with the Persian accent notwithstanding the long lasting rivalry with the Safavid empire. Via the Caucasus, the Caspian maritime trade and the northeastern regions of Persia the Turkmen could widen their trade interests with logical consequences. A special mention is due to an alleged Safavid laboratory established by Shah Abbas in Astarabad, today Gorgan, were groups of Yomut were living. Reportedly, it was producing carpets and other fabrics in its own manner but with an undoubted Persianate accent.
Turkmen weavers could have been inspired to them, the Ballard multi-gul Yomut carpet possibly the one and only example of a real corruption not yet resolved in new compounds as other exemplars do show (to have an idea of this subject please refer to 'The Hecksher & Co' by the author in this blog)
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| Abdal gul |
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| Kepse gul |
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| C-gul |
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| Eagle-gul |
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| The Ballard Yomut multigul carpet, 18th-19th, The Metropolitan |
EPILOGUE
The composition of the steppe empires usually generated a large variety of situations and ever shifting structures. Ongoing alliances with new clients-patrons, new communities created with different ethnic groups, swinging polities, eager need of control on the trade roads and emporiums were essential players in the game.
Although initially roaming groups, the steppe tribe élites largely proved over Great History a genetic aptitude to settle and dominate the territory like the Scythians to the West and the Juan Juan to the East did. They used to have permanent settlements of various sizes accordingly with various degrees of civilization from the most peripheral to the closest to the empire. Not rarely intermarried with the settled aristocracies, nomadic overlords are referred to as real kings outfitted with a magnificent display of kingship which was to be diffused among kinsmen and affiliates down to the lower strata of the population.
Much more complex than commonly acknowledged, the Turk social organisation in the higher levels usually provided for non-tribal bonds as well as introduced unexpected freedom to the strict rules of tribal life to the point to change their social rites (i.e. marriage and burial customs). The many foreigners present in the various khaganal residences (i.e. Sogdians and Chinese) played an important role in this respect. To the Turk influence on Central Asia, the institutional and ideological legacy of the Turk organisation, although shortly lasted, bequeathed long lasting traditions subsumed by the Mongol empire and its heirs centuries later.
Turk imagery and art were congruously reshaped during this Golden Age and in all likelihood originated both in royal encampments and urban setting with an arguable degree of variety. A tradition might have been rationally shaped to be revered and carried on over a long period up to the actual carpets.
Although still a postulate to be thoroughly examined, the connection and reciprocal influence of the Oghuz-Turkmen, the Turk khaganate and its legacy do appear a coherent thesis. And, indeed, some features of their main carpets seem to underline this rich and inclusive milieu.
Mostly sedentary weavers knotting for domestic, ritual and trade need, the Turkmen appear to have been aware of the art elaborated in Central Asia since their arrival.
Again, documentary evidence confirms them to have been engaged and merged with different traditions to various extent. Multiple reasons were causing such necessary symbiosis.
Reasonably, the essential equilibrium for these populations to survive had to grant tradition, a self-identity factor, and partly consent to innovation. The need of trading was one most effective point on a steady reworking process to satisfy commissions from diverse communities. Furthermore, the desire to emulate wealthier groups as well as the human call for creativity, an imperative never to be dismissed, were also to cause a quicksilver balance between conservatism and innovation.
Turkmen main carpets do suggest this scene. Tradition seems to have been revered by means of an enduring loyalty to the inherited format while innovation interacted by accommodating new designs in a convenient way. Conversely, the tribal lineage was granted by the steady presence of specific signs. Not otherwise than tamghas marked cattle and flocks, the four-directional and kotchanak motif, crescent, star, two-headed animal, bird-head and other designs not yet adequately deciphered 'marked' these rugs. This unique blend, actually, prevented them from losing their identity in the overwhelming flow of history.
Finally, surveying the varied interpretations attributed to their designs (see the devoted literature) one can't but be mesmerised. Yet, beyond any source and intent, they communicate the idea of a polysemous nature suggestive of the creative effort and artistic value encrusted within. They do resonate the innate talent of these weavers for creating 'open' images apt to reflect a shifting and rich cultural environment. Hence, adding feasible interpretations to the acknowledged wisdom should not but enrich the perception of these extraordinary works of art.
The refined expertise exuding from some of them voices the significance of these pieces.
Again, documentary evidence confirms them to have been engaged and merged with different traditions to various extent. Multiple reasons were causing such necessary symbiosis.
Reasonably, the essential equilibrium for these populations to survive had to grant tradition, a self-identity factor, and partly consent to innovation. The need of trading was one most effective point on a steady reworking process to satisfy commissions from diverse communities. Furthermore, the desire to emulate wealthier groups as well as the human call for creativity, an imperative never to be dismissed, were also to cause a quicksilver balance between conservatism and innovation.
Turkmen main carpets do suggest this scene. Tradition seems to have been revered by means of an enduring loyalty to the inherited format while innovation interacted by accommodating new designs in a convenient way. Conversely, the tribal lineage was granted by the steady presence of specific signs. Not otherwise than tamghas marked cattle and flocks, the four-directional and kotchanak motif, crescent, star, two-headed animal, bird-head and other designs not yet adequately deciphered 'marked' these rugs. This unique blend, actually, prevented them from losing their identity in the overwhelming flow of history.
Finally, surveying the varied interpretations attributed to their designs (see the devoted literature) one can't but be mesmerised. Yet, beyond any source and intent, they communicate the idea of a polysemous nature suggestive of the creative effort and artistic value encrusted within. They do resonate the innate talent of these weavers for creating 'open' images apt to reflect a shifting and rich cultural environment. Hence, adding feasible interpretations to the acknowledged wisdom should not but enrich the perception of these extraordinary works of art.
The refined expertise exuding from some of them voices the significance of these pieces.
The historical context they sourced from, if only shortly summed, may concede them to be addressed to as descendants of a sophisticated outcome commissioned by nomadic as well sedentary aristocracies. The dominant and implacable use of purple in its numerous shades, besides the constraints and characteristics of dye's resources, eventually applies to them the seal of royalty, for redness was the symbol of magic, sacred and kingship ever since.
At the end of the journey, the pearl roundel as disguised in Turkmen designs, truly appears imbued with a 'divine favour' for having encapsulated and preserved an encrypted world still to fully decode.
At the end of the journey, the pearl roundel as disguised in Turkmen designs, truly appears imbued with a 'divine favour' for having encapsulated and preserved an encrypted world still to fully decode.
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| Tekke main carpet |
Post scriptum
Other consequences may be deduced from this perspective but they are far too lengthy for this type of short 'loom'.
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