THE BAILEY 'ANIMAL-TREE' TEKKE ASMALYK, WEST TURKESTAN

George Bailey Collection, sold Rippon Boswell, Wiesbaden, 31 May 2014, lot 140

Pinner, Robert and Franses, Michael, 'The Bird and Animal Tree Asmalyk', Turkoman Studies I: Aspects of the weaving and decorative arts of Central Asia, London 1980, ill. 236, p. 124

Hali, Autumn 2014, Auction Price Guide, p. 129

The Tekke were, by the 19^th century, the most powerful, populous and warlike of the Turkmen tribes and producing the greatest number of weavings of all the tribal groups. Despite this, Tekke ‘Animal-Tree’ asmalyk are amongst the rarest of all Turkmen weavings. This example is one of fourteen or fifteen known examples with this design, of which just six have appeared at public auction over the last 30 years.¹ 

The asmalyk formed part of the decoration of the bride’s camel for the wedding procession; normally woven in pairs they hung either side of the bridal palanquin, the kejebe. Traditionally, the bride would weave the hangings for her kejebe, which might also include other decorations for the camel such as breast plates (khalyks) and knee decorations (dizlyks) for example - a visible display of her skills and marriageability. Whilst there are multiple examples of Yomut asmalyk, pile knotted Tekke asmalyk are rare. Two particularly sought-after types are those from the ‘Animal-Tree’ and the ‘Bird’ groups; the quality of these weavings aesthetically, technically and materially may suggest they were woven only for the most elite families, perhaps on commission, and that their survival in such small numbers reflects the rarity of their creation. Most that survive are in good condition, suggesting they were always prized possessions.

Paired toothed leaves in ivory with dark blue, or ivory with sea-green, issuing from a light madder angular vine interlace evenly divide the field into a crisply drawn trellis work of diamond compartments, each containing a ‘tree’ of boll-like form flanked by paired tauk nuska animals, the pairs both facing either left or right. The border is a delicately drawn wavy vine with curled leaves. Distinguishing features of the Bailey asmalyk include the carefully calculated trellis, ensuring the small gul motif at the tip of the pentagon is perfectly centred, combined with more playful details such as the part-chemche guls in the partial compartments at the sides (two on the left and one on the right), the addition of a tauk nuska animal in the left hand border and the parade of alternately green and blue animals pacing along the upper edge of the lower border. The finely woven jajim – flatwoven – tape, which is original to the piece, is a very rare survivor.

First published in Turkoman Studies I, op.cit., pp. 114-133, seven examples were known at that time (1980); since that date another seven or eight have come to light. The known examples are: illustrated in Turkoman Studies I, ibid., ill. 231 [1: Felkersham]; 232 [2: Leningrad Museum]; 234 [3: Pinner]; 235 [4: UK Collection]; 236 [5: Bailey, i.e. the present lot]; pl. XXVII [6: Wher Collection]; 240 [7: Liefer]; Antike Orientteppiche aus österreichischem Besitz., Vienna, 1896, no. 111 [8]; Rippon Boswell, 7 May 1988, lot 85, subsequently sold Sotheby’s New York 31 January 2014, lot 82 [9: Collins/Fernandes]; Dodds, D., & Eiland, M., ed., Oriental Rugs From Atlantic Collections, Philadelphia 1996, no. 241 [10: Hecksher]; Pinner, R., & Eiland Jr., M.L., Between the Black Desert and the Red, Turkmen Carpets from the Wiedersperg Collection, San Francisco 1999, pl. 26 [11: Wiedersperg]; Sotheby’s London, 16 October 1996, lot 82, Hali 90, p. 126 [12]; Christie’s London, 1 May 2003, lot 87 [13];Hali, Issue 108, 200, p. 133 [14]; noted by Rippon Boswell as unpublished, may or may not be one the latter three which identified in Hali in the Auction Price guide entry for the Bailey example, Hali Autumn 2014, p. 129 [15?: Peter Pap].

¹ Hali, Summer 2014, Auction Price Guide, p. 135