Turkmen carpets - message from the depths of history
The history of Turkmen carpet weaving has undergone a thousand years-long creative evolution. Many well-known collectors from around the world are proud to have in their stocks the Turkmen carpets and rugs, considering them imperishable masterpieces of applied art.
Danny Mehra from the Indian city of Bangalore owns a myriad collection of carpets, which he claims can cover the football field. Collecting a variety of floor coverings and woven items took over two decades of painstaking search.
Among the rarities from the Caucasus, Central and West Asia, dating back XIX-XX centuries, Turkmen carpets found their rightful place in his collection. And this is quite natural, because without the Turkmen carpet, which has already become a separate brand in the carpet craft, any collection will seem incomplete.
Mehra’s collection is dominated by tribal rugs of two types. These are kilims, which are flat tapestry-woven carpets or rugs, woven using two threads - warp and weft. Another type are pile carpets, which are made of three strands – warp, weft and strand forming a carpet knot. As a rule, pile carpets vary depending on the length of the pile.
The general criterion for the quality of the carpet is its softness and plasticity. At the same time, professionals have common opinion that with age the colors of the carpet become softer and even more mysterious.
However, not only the quality characteristics were taken into account by the collector from India. Every rug was bought by Danny at the behest of the heart. “It’s when you see a piece that you say, “Aha, life doesn’t have any meaning without this”, he said in one of his interviews to local media.
According to the expert, all the countries of carpet weaving were located along the Great Silk Road. And it is worth to note that Turkmenistan, being the heart of these zigzag routes, has contributed to the formation of carpet-making canons.
In that remote time, each woman was able to weave carpets, and was simply obliged to do so. The general ornamental technique and subtleties of skill were transferred from generation to generation. Nevertheless, every weaving work - whether it's a saddlebag, prayer rug, yurt entry tapestry or small bags for salt – featured something individual, inspired by the ideals and dreams of the one, who spent days and nights behind the weaving loom.
The comprehension of world’s beauty, the harmony of the universe found expression in colors and rhythm of patterns. So, every antique of Turkmen carpet weaving is a vibrant slice of the whole nations’ chronicle. And undoubtedly, the possession of these valuables gives an opportunity to join the spiritual wealth of the Turkmen people.
