Kapunuk, animal trapping for a bridal procession; hand-knotted woollen pile on woollen warp and weft; Central Asian, Turkoman; 19th century.
woven from the tips of the pointed panels.

WARP: white wool; Z2S; between 19 and 22 threads per inch (80 per dm).

WEFT: dark brown wool; Z2S; 2 shoots after each row of knots; 21-26 knots per inch (89-101 per dm). There are 2 or 3 threads of orange and red across an inch or two parallel to the white knots at the very end of the left hand panel.

PILE: wool; 10 colours: dark red, red, orange, green, dark blue, blue, light blue, dark brown, dark pink, white; asymmetrical knot, open to the right and tied around 2 warp threads; between 200 and 286 knots per sq. inch (3560-4040 per sq. dm).

SIDE FINISH: all vertical sides have one cord oversewn with dark blue wool.

END FINISH: Lower: the horizontal panel has a very narrow plainweave band with blue weft followed by red weft turned and sewn in place. There is a fringe max. length 1'22" (38 cms) in variously colours of wool; some is still knotted in place immediately after the plainweave, some has been sewn on later. The horizontal panels have a very narrow plainweave band with red weft, turned and stitched in place. The left panel has multi-
coloured fringe knots in place; the right hand panel has multi-coloured fringe knots with a dark blue and dark red and dark green fringe sewn on later (as at the centre of the horizontal panel). Upper: a narrow band of plainweave in red and then white weft turned over onto the right side and secured in place by a 1" (1.5 cm) plaited cord in green and red wool. Attached at the top right is a narrow 5" (13 cms) plait in brown and orange wool from which is attached a stout cord of white wool and dark brown hair, 4'10" (147 cms) in length and 12" (3.5 cms) in circumference.

DESIGN: Field: described as in use. White ground with 2 bands of a curled leaf design in dark red, green and dark blue along the top with angular orange and green stems linking the two bands and enclosing stepped lozenges and narrow triangles. The leaves and lozenges have a fine line in a contrasting colour providing an angular spiral within them. This design extgends down the two panels as similar leaves, lozenges and triangles on a single angular meandering stem. The triangular end of each panel has a broad triangle in green, orange and ble with a border of 2 lines of red lozenges.

Main border: a white ground with 'hash' (#) motifs in orange, dark red, green and dark blue. At the end of the panels there is a multi-coloured triangle and beneath are dark red lozenges in place of the # motifs.

Outer border: dark red ground with white diamonds alternating with paired inward-facing triangles in orange, green and blue. At the end of the panels this becomes a single line of diagonal blocks in orange, green and blue. On the panels there is an outermost border in undecorated red which, on the horizontal, is replaced by a reciprocal border in orange and dark blue or green horns.

Date catalogued: 11.12.96