Exquisite Turkmen carpets – an auction in Austria
Turkmen carpets of the 18th and 19th centuries will be presented at a special session of the Fine Antique Oriental Rugs XXX Austrian Auction Company. It will take place in two weeks, on October 1.
The works of Turkmen craftsmen occupy a central place in the collection of oriental carpets. These are not carpets themselves, but carpet accessories, attributes of a traditional Turkmen dwelling - bags, duvals, chuvals, asmalyks, gapylyks and ensi.
Fine examples of home weaving by Turkmen needlewomen, the earliest of which dates from the second half of the 17th century, and the latest from the first half of the 19th century, are estimated depending on the size, technique, and age from 20 thousand to 120 thousand euros. The entire online catalog of the upcoming auction can be viewed here.
The traditions of Turkmen carpet-making were included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Heritage of Mankind in 2019. Indeed, today it is difficult to say anything new about this folk art, comprehensively studied by researchers-historians, ethnographers and art historians. When it comes to the traditions of national culture, it is impossible to ignore this phenomenal fact that permeates the way of life of Turkmens to this day.
Nevertheless, every time Turkmen carpets attract the attention of a sophisticated public, in this case European, there is always a new focus on Turkmen carpet-making as a high art and a rich layer of spiritual and material culture.
The colorful "lexicon" of the carpet represents the creative matrix that, having become the fruit of the collective genius of the people, permeated the entire national culture – music, poetry, architecture, decorative and applied, fine arts, defining their unique identity. And this identity is worth a lot – literally and figuratively.
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