Four types of main carpet have been attributed to the Saryk Turkmen.The most common(Group A)were woven with a variation of the standard choval Göl.They combine the rounded major Göl form with the triangular minor(1).It is the trademark of these weavers and rarely occurs in other groups,although a Tekke version is known(2).The large Göl with its special cruciform center is reserved for the main carpets,but is occasionally found on “Saryk” chovals,of the kind with dark violet grounds,which are usually taken to be later examples.16 Göl Saryk chovals are invariably so ornamented.It has been stated that the light- ground Saryk carpets are earlier,but this cannot be proven.(3,4,5)
They constitute a much underrated group which due to their size and uniformity have been traditionally confined to the decorative zone.They are also amongst the poorest performers at auction,although lately things have been looking up.
Other groups are more “left-bank”and easier to collate,as so few examples have survived.The largest of them feature a Göl known as the Temirjin or Onurga ,which can be neatly divided into two distinct types,with one featuring a choval Göl as secondary (Group B-1) and the other a “Memling” device (Group B-2).The inner life of the “badges” is also correspondingly different,although there are some crossovers.(6-7)Curiously,the author has managed to acquire fotos of 12 examples for each category.The design was long after woven in Afghanistan,whence many Saryk tribespeople later emigrated.It was popular amongst the Labijar,although in a simplified form.
A group with a rendition of the Salor Gülli Gol,seven in all,are here documented(Group C).The Tauk Nuska design within the badge has been replaced by a simple cruciform.(8)
Six carpets and fragments comprise Group D,another Gülli Göl form dominated by large Kurbaghe secondaries.
1)Sold at Lefevre`s on 25 March 1977 for £6,600;later shown at the 1980 Turkmen exhibition in Washington;Sold again at Rippon-Boswell`s on 20 May 2000 for 60,000 Deutschmark.232 x 224 cms.
2)Published Thatcher 1940.7 feet square(c.2.13meters)
3)Sold at Sothebys on 31 January 2014 for $2,125.218 x 196 cms.
3a) Closeup,Sothebys 2014.
4)Gröte-Hasenbalg III-86.Collection Thomas Brown,Hamburg.Atributed to Pendeh,18th century(Kizil-Ayak)Fragment,cut on the right hand side.165 x 200 cms.
5)Munkasci-Jeffries Sale,Austrian Auction Company,9 May 2015.Unsold against an estimate of 5-7000 euros.Missing one vertical row of Göls.Traces of silk and cotton.262 x 209 cms.
6)Private Collection Germany.Rare example with Saryk Choval Göl variant.
6a)Hoffmeister Collection.
7)Phillips 19 May 1987(33)A fragment,reduced in the width,with white cotton on a dark violet brown field.Sold for £2700.232 x183 cms.
8)Collection Thyssen-Bornemisza.Published:World of Rugs(Hugh Moss/M.Franses)Friedrich Spuhler,Thyssen Bornemisza Collection.211 x 249 cms.
9)Wiedersperg Collection.231 x 223 cms.
10) Bausback,1981.Persian knotted,described in the catalogue as being possibly Achal-Tekke.264 x 201 cms.
11)Hecksher Collection,De Young Museum.Only example with Choval Göl and memling minor.249 x 231.
12)David Reuben,Gols and Guls II,plate 9,2001.217 x 230 cms.
13)Sold Bonhams 17 October 2001(23)for $3000.Later seen with Aaron Nejad.239 x 261 cms.
14)Maqam/Dennis Dodds.
15)Christies London 12 October 1989.Estimate £ 4-5000.283 x 224 cms.
16)Austrian Auction Company 15 March 2014(123)Unsold against an estimate of 10-12,000 euro.228 x 235 cms.
17)Sothebys 5 November 1983(171).Unsold against an estimate of $5-7000.229 x 213 cms.
18)Sold Lefevre`s 25 November 1983 for £8000.Published E.Herrmann,VI-1984,plate 87(Offered for 62,500 DM)White cotton with traces of red silk.Ascribed by EH to the early 19th century.221 x 242 cms.
19)McCoy Jones Collection.Published in Schürmann,Central Asian Rugs.233x266.
20)Sold at Sothebys New York,May 30 1987(133)Sold for $4400.Reviewed by George O`Bannon in Oriental Rug Review,8-2-1988,page 7.269 x 241 cms.
21)Sold at Sothebys May 30 1987(123) for $2530.Likewise reviewed by O`Bannon.One of two items recorded here with the Chemche minor Göl.295 x 243 cms.
22)At Nagels in 2008 and 2010.Unsold on both occasions.250 x 236 cms.
23)Offered twice at Lefevre`s London in 1974 and 1975(sold for £850).Later appeared four times at Nagels,Stuttgart.White cotton.264 x 233 cms.
24)Unsold at Nagels in 1984, at Phillips in 1987,passed at Skinners in 1996,and at the time of writing at the AAC aftersale in Vienna.It was described in 1987 as “An S-Group Turkoman Carpet”with a Persian knot open to the right,on depressed warps.Later with Adraskand in California.The AAC description adds red silk.Originally with a sewn-on border,since detached.252 x 221 cms.
25)At Phillips in 1992,went unsold at Christies London in October 2002,until its merits were recognised by David Reuben who published it in his first book.
26)Sothebys 24 March 1987(22)Described as a “Yomut” carpet,circa 1900,on a chocolate field.279 x 239 cms.
27)Udo Langauer,Internet appearance,2007.One of a number of examples with intact flatwoven ends.
28)Internet appearance,”callmr” on rugrabbit.
29)Nagels 7 November 2000(323)Sold for $7,890.Cotton whites.220 x 285 cms.
30)”From the estate of Clarence Dillon,Far Hills,New Jersey.”Brick red field.254x 221 cms.Sold for $1870.
31)Loges Collection.Unsold at Sothebys in 1994.Re-offered at the same venue in 1995,fate unknown.Magenta silk.260 x 240 cms.
32)At Rippon Boswell in 1984,and Nagels in 1987.Illustrated by Uwe Jourdan.Magenta silk and white cotton.272 x 233 cm.
33)Sold at Sothebys in 1982 for £1870.236 x 277 cms.
34)Unsold at Christies on 17 November 1988(54)”The Property of a Lady”.357 x 244 cms.
35)Unsold at Nagels(22) 7 May 1994(1264)
36)Sold at Nagels on 7 November 2000 for $7890,this carpet earned an APG in Hali 115(150)Said to have been in good condition with white cotton and red silk on a “Salor” red field.285x220 cms.
37)At Sothebys on 15 June 1983(38)Result unknown.277 x 236 cms.
38)Phillips London 7 June 1988(26)White cotton and a violet-brown field.Result unknown.287 x 210 cms.
39)Sold at Koller`s in Zurich on March 22 1986 for $4281.See Hali 32-85.237 x 251 cms.
40)Unsold at Christies new York on 9 December 1986.With magenta silk and white and blue(?)cotton highlights.274 x 299.
41)At Nagels on 6 May 1978(103)Result unknown.280 x 244 cms.
42)At Nagels on 8 November 2005(107)Silk and cotton.Unsold.262 x 235 cms.
43)At Nagels June Varia auction in 1985.
44)Sold at Sothebys on 16 december 2009(21) for $5000.361 x 257 cms.
45)At Villanfray Druot in 2014.
46)Sold at Sothebys on October 1 1977(142,a”Yomud Turcoman Carpet”) for $2500.The piece was re-auctioned the following year at the same venue for $2600.338 x 236 cms.
47-48)At Sothebys in 1975this carpet re-appeared with its elems skalped at Rippon Boswell in Switzerland on 14 June 1975(87)before finally selling at Sothebys Geneva sale of 14 May 1985(148)for 9900 Swiss Francs.Part-silk.251 x241 cms.
49)Twice at Mangisch in 1989.Result unknown.312 x 245 cms.
50)At Nagels 288 Auction on 8 November 1980(99)Result unknown.250 x 230 cms.
51)Sold at Christies London on April 24 2012 for $30,190.A good condition carpet with much use of silk and white cotton and an unusual minor Göl.247 x 300 cms.
52)An all-silk carpet with 8 x 26 Göls,at Nagels on 14 November 1981(133)Sold for 9000 DM.363 x 268 cms.
53+54)Two fragments ,probaly from the same carpet.The first was at Skinners on 28 April 2001(24) and sold for $1265;the second was on offer from Bertram Frauenknecht.
55)Sienknecht Collection 13;also with Thomas Cole.
56)A fragment sold at Rippon Boswell Wiesbaden on 20 November 2004 for 3360 Euro.Later seen with Fred Hazin.235 x 73 cms.
57)The second item recorded with Saryk Chemche minor Göl and playful choval minors.Published Hoffmeister,Turcoman carpets in Franconia,Plate 60.
GROUP B-1.
1)Rickmers Collection Berlin.Two fragments:59 x 119 and 38 x 98 cms.
2)Described by Grote-Hasenbalg in 1922 as the finest Turkmen carpet he had seen,and weighing in at 3920 kn/sqdm,this carpet was in the possession of Thomas Brown of Berlin,before surfacing with Hans Elmby in 1998.246 x 235 cms.
3)Published in Turkmen,Mackie/Thompson,1980.72.5 x 113 cms.
4)Sold at Sothebys London 3 November 2015,for £17,500.Very similar to the Brown/Elmby carpet.261 x 253 cms.
5)The Textile Gallery,published Hali 39-69(1988)215 x 230 cms.
6)Sold twice at Rippon Boswell,first on 10 November 1990(151) for $23,514,and then on 19 May 2012(199) for $9080.262 x 267 cms.
7)Austrian collection,published by the TKF in 2002 and 2011.350 x 246 cms.
8)Unsold against an estimate of $4500-7500 at Christies London on 12 October 2000.Later with Udo Langauer.With blue and red silk.236 x 193 cms.
9)Published in Taher Sabahi,L `Arte del Tappeto,2007,page 483.Collection S.Azadi.302 x 244 cms.
10)Sold at Edelmann`s New York in 1979(10 October,Lot 121) for $12,650.Later with Bernheimer.Unsold at Rippon Boswell in 1996(16 November.Lot 76,estimate 35,000 DM)and again at that venue in 2005(19 November Lot 62)where it sold for €9500.267 x 241 cms.Unusual lateral minor Göl formations.
11)Unsold at the Jeffries/Munkasci Sale in Vienna,Austrian Auction Company,9.5.2015,Lot 221(estimate 22-28,000 euro).257 x 229 cms.
12)Published by Eskenazi in 1983 and later sold at Rippon Boswell on 30 May 1992 for 42,000 DM.Subsequently Wiedersperg Collection.
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| 1-Rickmers |
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| 2-Elmby |
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| 3-Turkmen plate 16 |
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| 4-Sothebys 2015 |
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| 5-The Textile Gallery 1988 |
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| 6-Rippon Boswell 2012 |
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| 7-Gewebt & Geknüpft 1-3-28 |
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| 8-Christies 2000-Langauer |
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| 9-Azadi Collection |
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| 10-Rippon Boswell 1996 & 2005 |
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| 11-Jeffries Munkasci AAC |
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| 12-Wiedersperg |
GROUP B-2.
1-1a)Published in every edition of Neugebauer/Orendi/Troll since 1909,this carpet last appeared in Werner Loges` book, 1978.Austrian Collection(Ernst Albegger?).232 x 228 cms.
2)Published in the Rickmers Collection,by Robert Pinner,1993.In the Ethnographic Museum Berlin.80 x 115 cms.
3)At Sothebys New York 30 May 1987(40)Estimate $10-12,000.Shown in the ICOC Turkmen Exhibition”Wie Blumen” in 1993(Catalogue entry 104)Said to contain magenta silk.279 x 250 cms.
4)Offered three times at Lefevre in 1973,1978(sold for 5800 pounds) and on 26 February 1982(sold again for 6500 pounds)Published by E.Herrmann in his first catalogue,1978,plate 73.Thereafter exhibited and published in the ICOC catalogue of the 2nd Munich Exhibition,1985,plate 82.At some point it entered the Kirchheim Collection(see Hali 110-156)and was later sold at Rippon Boswell,Wiesbaden,in November 1999(98)for $17,195.211 x 247 cms.
5)Poldi Pezzoli Museum Milan.Said to have been purchased in February 1879,and exhibited in 1881.Restored twice in 1934 and 1955.228 x 265 cms.
6)The McCoy Jones example,now in the deYoung Museum San Francisco.236 x 228 cms.
7)Sold at Sothebys New York on 16 December 2004 for $9600.Reviewed by Hali in issue 140(129) 241 x 292 cms.
8)Sold twice at Christies London,first on 28 April 2005(71)for $19,480,and again on 8 October 2013 for $36,135.See Hali 141-96 and178-135.218x261 cms.
9)A large fragment,at Sothebys in September 1982.244 x 129 cms.
10)An interesting fragment once with Owen Parry,now said to reside in a major German collection.Turkish knotted.
11)One of the smallest of such carpets,and certainly the most expensive,having sold at Austrian Auction Company`s inaugural sale on 21 September 2013(137)for a resounding $99,030.The only example with 3x 6 rows.Featuring ensi-style field ornamentation.178 x 190 cms.
12)Rothberg Collection USA.
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| 1-Loges |
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| 1A-Neugebauer-Orendi-Troll |
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| 2-Rickmers |
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| 3-Sothebys 1987 |
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| 4-Volkmann |
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| 5-Poldo Pezzoli |
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| 6-McCoy Jones |
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| 7-Sothebys 2004 |
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| 8-Christies 2013 |
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| 9-Sothebys 1982 |
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| 10-Owen Parry |
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| 11-AAC 2013 |
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| M.Rothberg |
GROUP C.
1)The grandest of all carpets with this design appeared at Sothebys on 30 October 1982 and was sold for $34,100.Later with Herrmann in 1992.241 x 249 cms.
2)From the Thompson Sale at Sothebys on December 16 1993(30)Sold for $10,000.Not mentioned in Hali`s review(Hali 73-139)With Hans Elmby in 1994.Now Hoffmeister Collection.Silk highlights.196 x 244 cms.
3)First appearance at Sothebys on June 3 1989(60),estimated at $50-75,000 and presumably unsold.Offered again in Wiesbaden,Rippon Boswell 69, 19 May 2007(128) for 30,000 euro,unsold.298 x 242 cms.
4)Cleveland Museum of Art,Inv.Nm.2006.201.Gift of Arlene C.Cooper.Silk highlights. 257 x 250 cms.
5)Bausback Sale Catalogue.With cotton and silk.On offer for €17,500 in 2010.333x223 cms.
6)Unsold at Sothebys New York on 7 April 1992(53)this was re-offered at the same venue on 10 December 1992(42)selling for $18,150.Silk highlights.See Hali 67-132.
7)Consigned at a Sothebys New York Varia auction by Robert P.Hendrickson,a Connecticut-based collector,on 4 December 2003(154)this sold for $24,000.It was sold a second time at the same venue on 31 January 2014(138) for $28,125,and was later seen with David Sorgato.
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| 1-Herrmann 1992 |
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| 2-Elmby 1994 |
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| 3-Rippon Boswell 2007 |
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| 4-Cleveland |
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| 5-Bausback 2010 |
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| 6-Sothebys 1992 |
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| 7-Sothebys 2014 |
GROUP D.
1)First published in 1988 in an article by Friedrich Spuhler,this fragment was again published by Hans Elmby in 1990.It was shown at the ICOC Turkmen exhibition”Wie Blumen in der Wüste” in 1993,and again published in that catalogue.It had two runs at Rippon Boswell`s before selling:in 2002 it was passed at a 35,000€ estimate but later sold in May 2007 for €26,000.See Hali 152-126.167 x 230cms.
1a)Approximate montage of the above.
2)One of two complete examples appeared at Sothebys on 18 May 1985 and was sold for $24,200.211x201 cms.
3)The second complete carpet materialised at the Thornton Manor Sale in 2001(Sothebys 26 June 2001) where it sold for $5,075.It was purchased by David Reuben who published it in his second catalogue,and was later sold at Rippon Boswell`s on 4 December 2010(181) for $115,460.220 x 242 cms.
4)A fragment in Berlin was the subject of an article by Robert Pinner in OCTS 1,1985.It was then in East Berlin,present whereabouts unknown.143 x 214 cms,as a fragment,but Pinner conjectured its original size as being 207 x 214 cms.
5)An iconic fragment in the McMullan Collection,now Textile Museum.Made up of two fragments sewn together.Apparently the only example with white cotton.58 x 66 cms.
6)This fragment was sewn onto the corner of the Sothebys 1989/Rippon-Boswell 2007 Gülli Göl main carpet.
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| 1-Spuhler 1988 |
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| 1a-Montage |
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| 2-Sothebys 1985 |
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| 3-Thornton Manor |
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| 4-Berlin |
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| 5-McMullan |
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| 6-Rippon Boswell 2007 |
VARIA.
1)Two Temirjin Göl carpets are known with a variant Salor minor adorned with four extra hooks.The first carpet was sold at Sothebys Castle Howard Sale on 13 November 1991(349)Published by E.Herrmann in ATT IV,1992(94)250 x 317 cms.
2)The second example with this design was auctioned at Wooley & Wallis on 17 October 2000(277) for $25,015.See Hali 112-59,and 114-135.234 x 246 cms.
3)A group of presumably later pieces have been ascribed to the Ersari due to their Persian Knotting.Such carpets were initially attributed to the Kizil-Ayak by early Russian and German authorities.They are invariably coarser in weave and looser in handle.A carpet illustrated by Bogolyubov(3A) has an almost exact counterpart in a piece offered at Nagels in 1984(1 October,lot 3416)273 x 213 cms.(3B)A spritely Ersari version of the Temirjin design was donated to the Ashmolean Museum by Simon Crosby(3C)And an exceptional rug was lately in the possession of the American dealer Thomas Cole(3D)
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| Herrmann-ATT 4-94 |
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| Wooley & Wallis 2000 |
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| 3A-Bogolyubov |
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| 3B-Nagels 1984 |
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| 3C-Crosby |
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| 3D-Thomas Cole |
