Yomud tent main carpet
western Turkmenistan
circa 1890
Size: 345 x 205 cm
The principal motif in most Turkmen artefacts is the ‘gul’, an octagonal medallion repeated in a grid across the field of the rug. In the 19th century the Turkmen tribes used the ‘gul’ as a kind of totem particularly in their main tent carpets.
This Yomud tent main carpet bears the so-called ‘kepsi gul’ as its principal field motif on a typical purple brown background.
This purple/brown was obtained by using a very iron rich mordant with the dyestuff madder, the plant responsible for producing almost all the reds in Turkmen rugs.
