The Turkmen

Bag Face (chuval), Salor Tribe
Central Asia, Circa 1800
134.5 x 89 cm (53 x 35 in)
Wool & silk pile
Kurt Munkacsi & Nancy Jeffries

This splendid bag-face provides evidence for the high reputation of Salor tribe as weavers. Its colors are outstanding and it has a calm grandeur of design that makes it one of the most sought after of Turkmen weavings. Oral tradition has it that the three main octagonal motifs with triangular projecting “turrets” in the central field are specifically associated with the Salor. After the defeat and dispersal of this tribe in the mid-nineteenth century, the motif was used by other tribes as well including the Tekke and Saryk tribes.

TurkmenSalorchuval

Turkmen Salor Chuval