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Minimal Red-Ground Turkmen Striped Flatweave

Along the old Silk Route

Minimal Red-Ground Turkmen Striped Flatweave

Antique Collection

A spare, weft-faced flatweave on a deep madder-red field, crossed at intervals by narrow brocaded bands of brown, gold and ivory carrying small geometric and barbed-diamond motifs. The restraint is the point: broad expanses of plain red set against tightly drawn decorative stripes, in the manner of Turkmen tent and storage weavings. Pale cotton or undyed wool selvedges and gentle, uneven colour give it a quiet, archaic character and a softly aged surface.

The tradition

Along the old Silk Route

The antique collection brings together rare textiles and carpets gathered along the old Silk Route that once threaded through Hunza over the Mintaka and Kilik passes. These are survivors — pieces valued for their age, their hand-spun wool and silk, and the way their natural dyes have aged into soft, complex colour.

Because each antique piece is one of a kind, it is best understood as a document of its region and period rather than a repeatable design. We describe the design family and motifs honestly and leave precise dating and provenance to inspection in person.

Motifs & meaning

Reading the design

Antique pieces carry the motif vocabularies of the regions they passed through — Caucasian, Turkmen, Anatolian and Central Asian.

  • Medallion & field

    The classical garden plan at the heart of many old carpets.

  • Protective borders

    Layered guard bands framing and safeguarding the design.

  • Tribal güls

    Heraldic medallions identifying the weaving group.

  • Stylised flora

    Vines, rosettes and the tree of life signifying paradise.

Materials & technique

How it is made

Handwoven in wool and silk with natural dyes, these older pieces show the irregularities and softened colour that only time and hand-work produce.

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