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Carpet

late 19th century - early 20th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Woollen carpet.

WARP: white wool; Z2S; 21 threads per inch (80 per dm); depressed.

WEFT: brown, pink, grey and white wool; the colour changes from lower to upper: brown and pink then brown and white then brown and then grey; Z spun, unplied; one or sometimes two shoots after each row of knots; 17 knots per inch (70 per dm).

PILE: wool; 7 colours: light red, yellow, dark blue, purple, dark pink, dark brown, white; asymmetrical knot open to the right and tied around 2 threads; 179 knots per sq. inch (2800 per sq. dm).

SIDE FINISH: 1 cord over sewn with dark blue wool.

END FINISH: Lower: 4 cms plain weave in white weft with a narrow band of dark pink in the upper part. Upper 5 cms. with 2 complete bands of red weft and 2 incomplete of blue to either side. Evidence of a single-knotted fringe of warp ends at the upper right-hand corner.

DESIGN: Field: dark pink ground with 12 bands of three guls outlined and quartered in dark blue, the lines extending to form a grid. At the centre is a dark pink rectangle within a white lozenge, both inside a 10-sided figure quartered in dark blue and dark pink and hooked at top and bottom. From this, extending into the light red and white outer quarters are groups of 3 purple trefoils. Within the grid and 2 and 2 half rows of 2 and 2 half secondary motifs of a cross, hooked at the sides and doubly hooked at top and bottom in white. The vertical bar is decorated with 3 white diamonds and the horizontal with a chevron pattern. The underlying cross appears only as a pair of flanges on the horizontal bar.

Borders: from the inside:
(1) dark blue ground with a twisted ribbon zigzag in light red, dark pink and white. At the top this has a red ground with a central line of small quartered lozenges and the edge of what might be pairs of guls.
(2) dark blue ground with alternating light red and dark pink flower heads. For part of the right hand border these are interspersed with tiny florets.
(3) central dark pink zigzag in filled with pairs of coloured triangles.
(4) on each side there is an interlocking Y-motif in dark pink, dark blue and white which becomes a very narrow line of diagonal blocks along the top and bottom.
(5) as (2)
(6) as (1
(7) as (4)
(8) reciprocal hooked motif in light red, dark blue and white in one direction and dark pink in the other.

Between (1) and (2), (2) and (3), (5) and (6) and after (8) there is a guard stripe in diagonal blocks of colour and on both sides this is followed by narrow stripes in dark pink/dark blue/dark pink.

Upper and lower band: a panel of toothed concentric lozenges divided by a variant, in light red, of the vertical bar of the field's secondary motif. There is a narrow band of white with stylised flower heads.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Woollen
Brief description
Woollen carpet, made in Central Asia, 19th century
Physical description
Woollen carpet.

WARP: white wool; Z2S; 21 threads per inch (80 per dm); depressed.

WEFT: brown, pink, grey and white wool; the colour changes from lower to upper: brown and pink then brown and white then brown and then grey; Z spun, unplied; one or sometimes two shoots after each row of knots; 17 knots per inch (70 per dm).

PILE: wool; 7 colours: light red, yellow, dark blue, purple, dark pink, dark brown, white; asymmetrical knot open to the right and tied around 2 threads; 179 knots per sq. inch (2800 per sq. dm).

SIDE FINISH: 1 cord over sewn with dark blue wool.

END FINISH: Lower: 4 cms plain weave in white weft with a narrow band of dark pink in the upper part. Upper 5 cms. with 2 complete bands of red weft and 2 incomplete of blue to either side. Evidence of a single-knotted fringe of warp ends at the upper right-hand corner.

DESIGN: Field: dark pink ground with 12 bands of three guls outlined and quartered in dark blue, the lines extending to form a grid. At the centre is a dark pink rectangle within a white lozenge, both inside a 10-sided figure quartered in dark blue and dark pink and hooked at top and bottom. From this, extending into the light red and white outer quarters are groups of 3 purple trefoils. Within the grid and 2 and 2 half rows of 2 and 2 half secondary motifs of a cross, hooked at the sides and doubly hooked at top and bottom in white. The vertical bar is decorated with 3 white diamonds and the horizontal with a chevron pattern. The underlying cross appears only as a pair of flanges on the horizontal bar.

Borders: from the inside:
(1) dark blue ground with a twisted ribbon zigzag in light red, dark pink and white. At the top this has a red ground with a central line of small quartered lozenges and the edge of what might be pairs of guls.
(2) dark blue ground with alternating light red and dark pink flower heads. For part of the right hand border these are interspersed with tiny florets.
(3) central dark pink zigzag in filled with pairs of coloured triangles.
(4) on each side there is an interlocking Y-motif in dark pink, dark blue and white which becomes a very narrow line of diagonal blocks along the top and bottom.
(5) as (2)
(6) as (1
(7) as (4)
(8) reciprocal hooked motif in light red, dark blue and white in one direction and dark pink in the other.

Between (1) and (2), (2) and (3), (5) and (6) and after (8) there is a guard stripe in diagonal blocks of colour and on both sides this is followed by narrow stripes in dark pink/dark blue/dark pink.

Upper and lower band: a panel of toothed concentric lozenges divided by a variant, in light red, of the vertical bar of the field's secondary motif. There is a narrow band of white with stylised flower heads.
Dimensions
  • Weight: 15kg
  • Top edge width: 1125mm
  • Bottom edge width: 1105mm
  • Proper right edge length: 1785mm
  • Proper left edge length: 1825mm
Weight including roller
Production
carpet, Turcoman - Pakistan?
(together with T. 16 and T.18 1980)
Formerly unregistered pieces from Rotch bequest? Donald King
mentioned in "Turkoman Rugs in the V & A" by R. Pinner and M. Franses (intro by Donald King), analyses by L. Pinner. Hali 1980, vol. 2,, no4 4., p. 303, 305, 315.
Collection
Accession number
T.17-1980

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Record createdMarch 2, 2006
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