Antique Tekke | 100 x 62 cm | Nr. Z-3103

Antique Tekke

Delivery time	2 days
Origin	Turkmenistan
Dimensions	100 cm x 62 cm (= 0.62 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes)
knots	420.000
Condition	pre-owned, but in very good condition (cleaned & restored)
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 migrated to the neighbouring states of Afghanistan and Iran. Others settled in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Tekke rugs are among the celebrated Turkmen rugs, and their patterns are copied in Pakistan as well. Tekke rugs are also traded as Bukhara rugs. Bukhara (sometimes spelled Bokhara) is an oasis city in Uzbekistan on the former Silk Road. Although no rugs were ever knotted in Bukhara itself, the city gave its name to many Oriental rugs because they were traditionally exported to the West from there. These rugs were in fact knotted by Turkmen tribes such as the Yomud or the Tekke.

This Antique Tekke is a collector's piece. It is around 116 years old, and that alone makes it a truly special piece. Antique rugs such as this Antique Tekke are as sought after as ever and fetch top prices at renowned auction houses.

Material

The technique used to make the materials for the pile of this Antique Tekke is over 200 years old. The wool was dyed with natural dyes and spun by hand. Dyeing with natural or plant-based dyes is more complicated, more expensive and more time-consuming than dyeing with chemical colours. 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, it takes as much as two kilograms of weld per kilo of wool. Spinning the wool is labour-intensive and time-consuming too. What is more, fewer and fewer people still know how to spin wool by hand.

But the effort is worth it: dyeing with natural colours allows the high-quality wool to keep its natural oil 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, comes into its own as a contrast in modern interiors, but equally in rooms furnished in a more traditional or country style.

The foundation (weft and warp threads) of this Antique Tekke is made of new wool.

Condition

You are not the first to take a liking to this Antique Tekke. It has had owners before you who valued and used it. The pile is lightly worn. The edges are damaged in places. It was knotted around 116. We have cleaned it thoroughly and restored it with care. It is therefore – despite its age – in very good condition.