TURKESTAN Dated 1888 and inscribed
Salor Design
Inscription: BADGANOUME MIRZA SAROUKHANIANTS 1888 AMI

At first glance, this rug seems to be an excellent example of 19th century Turkoman weaving of a type described by various authorities as Saryk, Salor or Tekke. Closer examination shows several anomalies in addition to the surprising inscription. The motifs chosen for the borders are common to Yomut carpets, but not Salor/Tekke pieces; yet the weave and main design relate to the latter group. Stranger still is the lack of any additional design at the end of the carpet: no apron of extra design beyond the borders, no luxuriant expanse of flat-weave. The narrow finishing band of kilim is in the Tekke style, but uses once more a motif preferred by the Yomut. The tiny four-dot crosses of the outer guard border are sometimes seen in Turkoman rugs, but are more common in Caucasian weaving. Finally, there is the matter of field color, a true Armenian crimson, not the typical Turkoman madder-red or the aniline plum color used in late Tekke weaving. We will never know the whole story behind this rug. The flawlessly formed Armenian inscription "the absolute property of Mirza Saroukhanian, in the year 1888" is unlikely to be the work of a Turkoman tribal woman. Turkoman rugs woven before 1900 did not reflect a literate culture and did not carry dates or inscriptions.