Lot 73

SARYK ENGSI RUG

Hand knotted wool carpet on woolen warp made of goat hair. The so-called 'engsi', originally designed to cover the entrance to a circular yurt (or kibitka), has changed only minimally over the centuries and is characterised by a mostly strictly geometric iconography, which allows us to distinguish between makers from different tribal groups and subgroups. In the middle of our specimen, typical in design and colour for the Saryk tribe, the first thing that catches the eye are the so-called 'candlesticks' in the colour of dark indigo - these elements are called 'insi kuš' in tribal symbolism and represent stylised birds, an imaginary link between heaven and earth in Turkmen cosmology. The central composition, called the 'hachla', is a broad cross, but here it is interrupted and only vaguely indicated, and its meaning is to protect the dwelling from the so-called 'evil eye', or misfortune and malice. This specimen was very likely made for export to Tsarist Russia, as evidenced by, among other things, the mix of synthetic and natural dyes, and according to Tsarist records, as early as the end of the 19th century, the Russian Empire was already using a mix of synthetic and natural dyes. In the early 19th century, about two thirds of Turkmen production was made for the rich and exotic Russian elite (many magnificent older tribal specimens were unfortunately destroyed shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, also during the siege of Leningrad during World War II, etc.). The highly geometric motifs throughout the carpet design include stylised flowers, trees and good luck charms, but many of the elements and their original meaning are still the subject of scholarly debate and have been reinterpreted since the 19th century. The Pende Oasis lies just a short distance from the Afghan border and in 1885 the Tsarist troops defeated the Afghan army led by British instructors and Turkmenistan remained in the Russian zone of influence.