Always on the lookout for exciting collector goods,Mr.Gilmore`s post of 8/27/12 mentioned an interesting Tekke ensi for sale at CRN Auctions in Cambridge Ma. on September 9.Lot 375 was estimated at $8-1200 dollars,and eventually sold at $17,000,excluding buyer`s premium.
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| 1-CRN Auctions Lot 375 |
Gilmore accurately compared the CRN piece to a rug published in Turkoman Studies,page 156,illustration 336.However,the two pieces belong to different design groups.The TS piece was sold on 26 November 2011 at Rippon Boswell,and an APG followed in Hali 171,page 124.In both pieces the trees in the border have been separated into panels by horizontal stripes.
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| 2-Rippon Boswell 26.11.2011-lot 19 |
The rare elem-border trope was obviously the chief selling factor at CRN.Moshkova named such tree patterns "Kelleli"(but she also used the term to describe the "Animal-Tree" Group).In his book on Turkmen designs,Klaus Troost reserves the term for the Animal-Tree Ensi,using the term "Kelle "for the tree border design.The design also appears on Tekke chovals,mainly of the 16 gol type,and in a truncated form on Chodor chovals with ertmen gol.
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| 3-Moshkova-O`Bannon page 223 |
The ensis can be divided into two groups:those in which the tree forms fill the elem,and the more appealing group in which the trees flank all sides.
The wrap-around group can again be subdivided into two groups:Group A,known here as "Kelle",and Group B,known here as "Kelle-Halo"
The first group,in which the bejewelled tree design appears only in the elem,is actually a fairly standard Tekke ensi
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| 4-Bausback 1982-130 |
The inner scrolling-leaf border with hash-tags seems to be a constant,as is the sickle-leaf main border.Variations do occur
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| 5-Chris Legge-Larta 2012 |
And a piece from Rug Rabbit bears a second,stacked elem often found on Tekke Chovals
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| 6-Burak Serdaroglu-RugRabbit |
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| 7-Orientalische Teppiche,1891,page 120 |
We enter a completely different realm with the "wrap-around" Group."Type A" Kelle pieces may best be represented by an example from Eberhart Herrmann ,in which the flowerheads have grown handles,and the Insykush field sports the ultra-desirable birds-heads
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| 8-Weltkunst 1999 |
A similar piece erupted at Grogan`s back in 2006(see Hali 148-115)
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| 9-Grogans 22 April 2006-106 |
And a further Phantom of the Internet has been sighted
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| 10 |
Better known is the example from the "Turkmen"Exhibition of 1980 in Washington,later reprised for the Atlantic Collections ICOC Exhibit,in which the tree forms demonstrate their apotropaic qualities
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| 11-Turkmen 45-Atlantic Collections 194 |
Less Sentinel-like and more stately was HJ-Krausse`s square format example
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| 12-Hali 78-4 |
Whilst a piece from The Jan Timmerman collection appears to float on suspension rings,and the entire frame is encompassed by "Kelle"
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| 13-ex-Timmermann |
The first "Type B" Kelle ensi seems to have been published by Peter Bausback in 1969
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| 14-Bausback 1969-77 |
A gutsier example was on display at the Washington ICOC exhibition
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| 15-Washington 174 |
The trees in Peter Hoffmeister`s piece have a delicate saryk touch to them
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| 16-Hoffmeister 33 |
E.Herrmann`s example is quite other-worldly
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| 17-ATT 2-56 |
During the late 70`s the "Animal-Tree" ensis rose to fame,and a number of stirling examples appeared.Their connection to a group of Tekke asmalyk endowed them with an iconic status. However, more indifferent pieces also surfaced.Perhaps one day they will be eclipsed by the Kelle group,of which so few examples remain.
