Old Tekke | 236 x 155 cm | Nr. Z-1205

Geometric old Tekke, light red with border

Origin	Turkmenistan
Dimensions	236 cm x 155 cm (= 3.66 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes) Weft & Warp: wool
knots per m²2	800.000
Pile height	5mm
Year of manufacture	1950
Colour	Light red, cream white
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

The Tekke are the main tribe of the Turkmen. They live in the Republic of Turkmenistan and in Afghanistan. In earlier times the Tekke were nomads and much given to raiding. Today most of them are settled and live peacefully as farmers. After the break-up of the Soviet empire, however, some returned to a nomadic way of life. The majority of the Tekke live in the now independent Republic of Turkmenistan, where they knot rugs in the cities of Ashgabat and Mary and the surrounding areas.

During the communist revolution, numerous Tekke clans moved to the neighbouring states of Afghanistan and Iran. Others live in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Tekke rugs are among the famous Turkmen rugs, whose patterns are also copied in Pakistan. Tekke rugs are also traded as Bukhara rugs. Bukhara (sometimes also spelled Bochara) is an oasis city in Uzbekistan that lies on the former Silk Road. Although no rugs were ever knotted in Bukhara itself, the city has given its name to many Oriental rugs, because they were traditionally exported to the West from Bukhara. These rugs were in fact knotted by Turkmen tribes such as the Yomut or the Tekke. This old Tekke is around 70 years old and a real collector's piece.

Pattern

The edge of the rug is framed by a surround (border). The border forms a splendid contrast to the centre.

The abstract, geometric composition is what gives this Tekke its understated elegance. The pattern flatters the design of the room and never draws attention away from the furniture, the décor and the architectural elements. It creates a pleasant atmosphere without dominating the style of the room.

The repeating elements of this Tekke rug have no specific centre. The recurring repeat pattern feels calming, yet never dull. Rugs with a repeat pattern are also described as all-over patterned.

The background of this Tekke is cream white. Light red and cream white also dominate the overall impression. The border is worked in light red and cream white.

Condition

This Tekke had admirers before you. It was hand-knotted around 1950. It has been thoroughly cleaned and is in good, though only partly restored, condition. The fringes could do with a repair. We did not restore this Tekke completely, because we think it has a special charm just as it is. If you would like us to, we are of course happy to carry on restoring the rug for you. We can bring almost any rug back to near-perfect condition.

Material

The technique used to make the materials for the pile of this Tekke is over 200 years old. The wool was dyed with natural colours and spun by hand. Dyeing with natural or plant-based colours is more complicated, more expensive and more time-consuming than dyeing with chemical dyes. For a luminous red, for example, you need around one kilo of ground madder root as dyestuff per kilo of wool. For a strong yellow that is not too pale, you even need two kilograms of the dyestuff weld per kilo of wool. Spinning the wool is time-consuming and labour-intensive too. On top of that, fewer and fewer people still master spinning wool by hand.

But the effort is worth it: dyeing with natural colours lets the high-quality wool keep its natural lanolin content. Wool that has been dyed with natural colours and spun by hand creates fascinating, shimmering patterns. The charm of hand-spun wool, with its slight irregularities and natural shades, unfolds as a contrast in modern interiors, but just as well in rooms furnished in a more traditional or country style. The foundation (weft and warp threads) of this Tekke is made of new wool.